Murphy’s Market Tabernacle: History, Information, Departments, and Community Role

Murphy’s Market Tabernacle is the headquarters location of Murphy’s Fresh Markets, a multigenerational, family-owned supermarket company in southern New Jersey. The Tabernacle store is located at 381 Medford Lakes Rd., Tabernacle, NJ 08088, and operates as part of a three-store network serving communities in Tabernacle, Medford, and Beach Haven on Long Beach Island.

The company was founded in 1978 and is built around fresh food, neighborhood service, family ownership, and community involvement. The Tabernacle location was built from the ground up and covers 30,000 square feet, making it the largest of the company’s three current stores.

Murphy’s Market Tabernacle at a glance

Opening hours and location information

The Tabernacle store is listed as open from 7 am to 9 pm every day of the week. Its regular schedule is Monday through Sunday, 7 am - 9 pm.

The Tabernacle store is one of three Murphy’s Fresh Markets locations in southern New Jersey. The other stores are located at 666 Stokes Rd., Medford, NJ 08055, and 9 S Bay Ave., Beach Haven, NJ 08008.

How Murphy’s Fresh Markets began

Murphy’s Fresh Markets traces its history to 1978, when Ronald S. Murphy, known affectionately as “Mr. Murphy,” and his wife, Kathy, purchased the Medford Lakes store. Before becoming an owner, he had started working in the grocery business at the age of 16 at a small store in northeast Philadelphia.

He later became a grocery manager in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, when the Medford store became available for purchase in 1978. An industry friend helped him and his wife buy the store by providing a loan that they repaid as soon as they could.

The Medford Lakes store was the company’s first location and totals 23,000 square feet. Murphy’s Fresh Markets has operated as many as seven stores at one point, while its current network consists of three locations in Tabernacle, Medford, and Beach Haven.

The Tabernacle store is the company’s headquarters. Unlike the first Medford location, it was built from the ground up and covers 30,000 square feet. The Beach Haven store on Long Beach Island measures 16,000 square feet.

The development of the Tabernacle store

Shoppers at the Tabernacle store noticed several changes after a major “re-opening” celebration. The work was described as an enhancement of the store and an overall facelift.

The main changes included an expanded bakery and deli, enhanced meat and seafood options, and additional healthy options throughout the store. The deli department was expanded, and the store added more prepared foods from different vendors.

New selections included pastries, artisan breads, higher-quality brands, and more fresh seafood from Long Beach Island. The store also continued to expand its locally grown produce section.

The reopening celebration included food and beer samplings, gift bags, and reopening sales. A 100-foot-long hoagie was donated by Boar’s Head Premium Meats and Cheeses, and portions were sold to customers attending the event. All proceeds from the hoagie went to Tabernacle Fire Co. No. 1.

Fresh food as the central focus

Murphy’s Fresh Markets, as the name implies, places focus on fresh departments. The company describes its stores as specialty grocery markets serving southern New Jersey and emphasizes products delivered to the stores daily.

The stores have a strong reputation for quality meat. Their butchers stand by the Certified Angus Beef brand because it is regarded by the company as the best Angus brand available.

The company also offers organic, local, seasonal, and premium produce. Its selection includes fresh-cut fruits and vegetables as well as dinner ingredients that are already washed and cut.

Murphy’s Fresh Markets partners with growers in New Jersey to bring Jersey Fresh produce to all of its stores. Homegrown Jersey tomatoes and strawberries are highlighted as seasonal products associated with summer in South Jersey.

Meat and seafood

The stores emphasize quality meat and carry lines such as Certified Angus Beef. The company says it does not move away from quality even during inflationary times.

The Tabernacle reopening also brought enhanced meat and seafood options. The store added more fresh seafood from Long Beach Island as part of its broader effort to increase the range and quality of fresh departments.

Bell and Evans Chicken was another addition. Although it can be priced higher than some standard brands, it became a favorite among customers selected to try it, and the product was described as outperforming national brands in customer preference.

Deli and prepared foods

Deli sandwiches are another draw for Murphy’s Fresh Markets. The stores offer a 2-foot-long Italian hoagie that is especially popular during football and holiday seasons.

The expanded Tabernacle deli includes additional prepared foods and products from different vendors. The company also hired a chef who had served as an executive chef for Wegmans for 25 years.

Under the chef’s leadership, the stores began offering Asian, Italian, regional, and other ethnic dishes. This prepared-foods program provides ready-to-eat and ready-to-serve choices alongside the traditional grocery departments.

Bakery

Bakery is another point of differentiation for Murphy’s Fresh Markets, and the department experienced an increase in sales over a period of two to three years.

Daily bakery products include bagels and doughnuts, while Italian rolls come in daily. The stores also offer individual desserts, homemade cakes, pies, muffins, and cupcakes.

Murphy’s Fresh Markets has hired talented cake decorators and has promoted its stores as destinations for specialty cakes for weddings, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and other events.

The bakers and decorators also produce large decorated cakes for the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at the Tabernacle and Medford stores.

Meal planning and everyday shopping

Murphy’s Fresh Markets launched a weekly meal planner to inspire shoppers and make grocery planning more practical. The first page features seven days of meal ideas, while the second page contains a shopping list.

The stores are designed to serve both routine household shopping and special occasions. Their product range includes fresh-cut meats, artisanal cheeses, festive treats, beverages, gift-worthy goods, and ingredients for family meals.

Seasonal displays and food events are also part of the store experience. Examples include Thanksgiving dinner previews, holiday merchandising, Memorial Day weekend offerings, and St. Patrick’s Day displays featuring Idaho potatoes.

Murphy’s three-store network

Tabernacle

The Tabernacle location is the company headquarters and its largest current store at 30,000 square feet. It serves as the flagship location for the family-owned business and offers the company’s full emphasis on fresh departments, prepared foods, bakery products, meat, seafood, produce, and grocery staples.

Medford Lakes

The Medford Lakes store was the company’s first location, acquired in 1978, and totals 23,000 square feet. Two employees who were already working there when Mr. Murphy purchased it in 1978 remain with the company.

Beach Haven on Long Beach Island

The Beach Haven store is located at 9 S Bay Ave. in Beach Haven and measures 16,000 square feet. The Murphys purchased the former Beall’s store in 1995.

Beach Haven is open year-round but is considered a seasonal store, with most of its business taking place between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Although it is smaller, the location offers a full complement of categories with a reduced selection.

Neighborhood identity and competition

Murphy’s Fresh Markets operates three stores in southern New Jersey. The stores are nestled in their respective neighborhoods, have strong relationships with customers, and have a reputation for charitable giving.

The company recognizes that community connections alone are not enough to remain successful. It also seeks to provide competitive quality because customers can shop at larger chains such as Acme and ShopRite, as well as specialty-oriented retailers such as Sprouts and Trader Joe’s.

The company’s approach is to understand its customer base while continuing to execute effectively in the stores. This balance between local familiarity and competitive product quality is central to the company’s operating model.

Family ownership and management succession

Ron Murphy is the vice president of Murphy’s Fresh Markets and the son of the company’s founder and president, Ronald S. Murphy. He worked for the company for six years after graduating from Villanova.

After earning a master’s degree in accounting at Drexel University, Ron Murphy worked in the corporate world as a financial analyst for 12 years before returning to the family business.

He returned to Murphy’s in 2018 to begin learning how to run the operation. His return followed the birth of twin girls into his family, his wife’s increasingly long commute as her company moved farther away, and his father’s eventual plans for retirement.

Two years after he began the transition, the COVID-19 pandemic created a major challenge for the grocery business. The stores remained open because they provided an essential service to their communities.

The pandemic accelerated the learning process and required the company to respond quickly to changing situations. The changing nature of the business remains one of the aspects of grocery retail that management finds most engaging, because new legislation and new situations require the company to stay active and adjust.

Employees and workplace culture

The family culture established by Mr. Murphy has resulted in many long-term employees. Some managers have worked for the company for two or three decades, while some employees have retired after 30 or 40 years.

Murphy’s Fresh Markets promotes from within first and tries to give employees the opportunity to build careers within the company. The business seeks to create an environment in which different opinions are welcomed while retaining practices that have worked in the past.

The company also emphasizes work-life balance and wants staff members to have time for their personal lives and families. It offers scholarships to employees, and store managers serve as mentors, particularly for younger staff members.

Community involvement and charitable giving

Community is central to the mission associated with Mr. Murphy and his family. Children and education are two major areas of giving, along with charities such as Ronald McDonald House and the Lions Club in Medford Lakes.

The company’s charitable involvement is also visible at local store events. During the Tabernacle reopening celebration, proceeds from the sale of portions of a 100-foot-long hoagie went to Tabernacle Fire Co. No. 1.

Community and people are described as being at the heart of the company’s culture. This emphasis extends beyond donations to relationships with customers, support for local producers, employee development, and participation in neighborhood events.

Local and seasonal products

Murphy’s Fresh Markets promotes a connection with New Jersey agriculture by offering Jersey Fresh produce in all of its stores. The company’s selection includes local, seasonal, organic, and premium produce.

Seasonal grocery activity is particularly important at the Beach Haven location, where the majority of business occurs between Memorial Day and Labor Day. At all stores, seasonal occasions influence displays and product selection, including summer gatherings, Thanksgiving, holidays, and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

The company also highlights products prepared in its own stores, including cold brew coffee made with organic coffee and bottled in-store. Fresh-cut produce, prepared dishes, bakery products, and specialty cakes extend the role of the stores beyond conventional packaged-goods grocery shopping.

Buying power and supplier relationships

Murphy’s Fresh Markets is part of The Advantage Group, which consists of grocers supplied by UNFI. The group has a central person who helps participating independent grocers negotiate deals with manufacturers for advertising and marketing funds.

The company signed a new contract with UNFI and expressed an intention to continue finding independent grocers with similar goals and interests that might want to join a group.

These relationships help an independent, family-owned supermarket compete in a market that includes national and regional chains. The company combines group purchasing opportunities with local store operations and a neighborhood-oriented identity.

Why the Tabernacle store is significant

Murphy’s Market Tabernacle represents the current headquarters and largest store of a business that began with one Medford-area location in 1978. Its 30,000-square-foot building was constructed from the ground up and serves as the main base of the company’s three-store operation.

The store reflects the company’s broader strategy: maintain a neighborhood presence, compete through quality, expand fresh departments, provide prepared foods and bakery specialties, support New Jersey producers, and remain involved in local communities.

Its history is closely connected with the Murphy family’s long-term involvement in grocery retail, the company’s multi-generational workforce, and its continued focus on customers in Tabernacle and neighboring southern New Jersey communities.

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