Kilroy’s Wonder Market, Glen Rock, NJ

Kilroy’s Wonder Market is a small local shop in my small suburban hometown of Glen Rock, New Jersey. The cozy town is about 2.7 square miles and located approximately 25 miles from New York City. The neighboring towns have stores such as Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, and Costco and yet Kilroy’s remains a primary source for the community to grocery shop at. Kilroy’s has been family owned since 1916 and still believes in Frank Kilroy’s original slogan that the market is, “Small enough to know you, large enough to serve you.” The market is located on Rock Road, which is the main road through the town’s Central Business Direct. The store is open seven days a week from as early as 8:00AM to as late as 9:00PM. It is typical for Glen Rock residents to commute into New York City by train for work. At the end of the day many people get off the train, which is in close proximity to Kilroy’s Wonder Market, where they prchase the goods they need for dinner and walk home to prepare their meal. Store employees mentioned how they see familiar faces day after day.

Kilroy’s Wonder Market reinforces many of the concluding remarks in the concluding chapter “Local Shops, Global Streets” of Global Cities, Local Streets by Sharon Zukin, Philip Kasinitz, and Xiangming Chen. This Mom & Pop shop allows money to stay within the community while simultaneously creating a sense of place, generating jobs and taxes, and developing a social space. Kilroy’s primarily employs members of the community, which aids in the visual face and the local identity of the store. Employing local residents creates jobs and helps the local economy. In Glen Rock, Kilroy’s is known as an extremely social space and a principal example of the store is the “Banana Tree” located at the back. Physically, the “Banana Tree” is a structure covered in green felt with hooks to hang bunches of bananas. The original intent was to display produce in an appealing way. At present time, the town’s residents commonly know the “Banana Tree” as a place to exchange news and town gossip. This concept has developed into the town’s culture and the “Banana Tree” even has its own website and has been mentioned in Glen Rock High Schools newspaper. Link to Banana Tree News  Link to The Glen Echo 

This shop has been in business in Glen Rock for nearly 100 years and the store’s owner, and employees, and local residents do not see it go anywhere soon. Kilroy’s Wonder Market offers more than the products on its shelves. Glen Rock residents continue to shop at the Mom & Pop store because it strengthens the town’s sense of community.

Link to Kilroy’s Wonder Market

Jackie Wostbrock ’16