The chain opened its first supermarkets in New York's Capital District in 1932, and changed its name from Central Market to Price Chopper in 1973.

In 1932, Joseph E. Grosberg, together with Russian Jewish immigrants Bernard and William Golub, partners in the Grosberg-Golub Corporation,[2] opened the partnership's first supermarket (initially called Public Service Market) in Green Island, New York, followed by stores in Cohoes, Watervliet and Schenectady.

In 1993, Price Chopper launched an updated version of the Super Center format with a South Hills Mall store in Poughkeepsie.

The updated concept had a greater emphasis on take-out and ready-to-eat meals, some featuring food courts with Price Chopper's own in-house branded concepts, including Roasters (rotisserie chicken; no relation to Kenny Rogers Roasters), Bella Roma (pizza), Coyote Joe's (tacos and burritos), and the Bagel Factory.

Under the newer prototype, the aisles were also placed back in the traditional vertical arrangement at the request of many customers who found the former layout confusing.

Prior to 1990, Price Chopper was barely a player in the New England states, with only about a half dozen outlets in Massachusetts and Vermont.

However, beginning in the early 1990s, the chain began an aggressive expansion eastward into the New England region, primarily focusing on further growth in Vermont and Massachusetts.

In 1990, Price Chopper acquired many stores in Vermont from Syracuse-based P&C Food Markets, which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was requiring it to sell because of its parent company's decision to increase its ownership stake in Grand Union.

Price Chopper opened its fourth New Hampshire store, also a former P&C Foods, in Lincoln in May 2010, expanding its footprint to the White Mountains.

During the grand opening of Windsor, Connecticut store #221, Price Chopper raised the most money in company history for its non-profit organization.

In June 2009, Price Chopper established a three-year partnership with Sunoco for the company's "Fuel Advantage" program, where customers earned 10 cents off every gallon of gas[5] for every 100 dollars spent on groceries.

Green features include a 400 kW United Technologies Corp. natural gas fuel cell which provides a significant amount of power (60% as quoted by Price Chopper) for the store.

[6] In March 2014, after over 15 months of renovations, Price Chopper completed its remodel of its 25-year-old Latham, New York store and rebranded the store as Market Bistro, including an expanded food court featuring hamburgers, a Ben & Bill's sandwich counter, stone-fired pizza, an ice cream shop, Chef's Grill, as well as an expanded 24-hour drive-through pharmacy, an on-site clinic, and a cooking school.

Changes to branding, product labels, loyalty cards, company uniforms, as well as store modernizations, are to be rolled-out over the coming years at a cost of more than $300 million.

[5] The Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets businesses will retain main offices in Schenectady and Williamsville and will continue to be managed locally by their respective leaders.

Other major markets for Price Chopper include Utica, Syracuse, Binghamton, and the Mid-Hudson Valley in New York, as well as Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Hartford, Connecticut; Worcester, Massachusetts and Burlington, Vermont.

From 2007 to 2015, the company had used a summer campaign to promote its fresh meats and produce, known simply as "Price Chopper House of BBQ."

Plans for the renovation included the opening of a New York-style sandwich shop named "Ben and Bill's" after the founders of the company.