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Big Y - Westborough, MA

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By Zachary
Big Y
Opened: August 14, 2025
Owner: D'Amour family
Previous Tenants: Stop & Shop (1980s-2021) > Amazon Fresh (planned, never opened)
Cooperative: none
Location: 290 Turnpike Rd, Westborough, MA
Photographed: August 24, 2025
Some of the built-but-never-opened Amazon Fresh locations have been lucky to find new life under new owners, such as Aldi or independent grocers -- but here in New England, regional chain Big Y has acquired three locations. Two Connecticut stores, in Brookfield and Westport, opened relatively quickly, but the Westbprough, MA location spent longer under construction. We most recently saw this location when it was being converted from Stop & Shop, which occupied the space from the 1980s to 2021, to Amazon Fresh. Big Y opened here in the middle of this month.
Big Y kept Amazon Fresh's smaller footprint -- about 40,000 square feet compared to Stop & Shop's previous 60,000 -- and an Ashley Furniture has moved into the rest of the space.
Inside, the store is set up similarly to Westport and Brookfield, but with more Big Y touches. Notice that the produce fixtures aren't the same as Westport's, which I suspect were left from Amazon Fresh. Plus, the ceiling is white here, not dark like it is in Westport and Brookfield, and the flooring is slightly different. Honestly, I think the Westport look works better, but this is still a very attractive store.
Big Y has been doing a great job with running their stores lately, although they're on the expensive side still. They use Food Club and the rest of the Topco brands, apparently distributed via Bozzuto's in Connecticut. They currently own about 80 stores in MA and CT.
Meat and seafood behind produce, with service counters on the back wall. Dairy lines the rest of the back wall, with frozen in the aisles on the left side. Deli, bakery, and prepared foods are in the last aisle on the left, along with a cafe in the front-left corner. Unlike Westport, HABA is integrated into the grocery aisles.
This decor is attractive and colorful, which is essential. Even with the newer, more colorful decor, some of the Amazon Fresh stores feel lifeless.
A look across the back wall towards deli/bakery on the left side.
Big Y's density west of Worcester -- their home territory -- is much greater than what they have east of the city, meaning that there are holes like this that they can fill with new stores. In fact, there's enough competition in the immediate Worcester area that no one chain is dominant, and Big Y, Price Chopper/Market 32, Shaw's, Stop & Shop, Hannaford, and Market Basket all have presence in Worcester County.
The grocery aisles are immaculate, but the overall look of the store seems washed-out compared to the much more dramatic Westport location with darker ceiling and better lighting.
Looking across the front-end.
This store, like the Westport one, definitely feels like a smaller supermarket. It's certainly not that small, but with just ten grocery aisles and five registers, it feels smaller than, say, the nearby Stop & Shop (which spans over 70,000 square feet, nearly double the size of this store).
Incidentally, it doesn't look like that Stop & Shop has been renovated yet, still sporting its ca. 2010 decor. The stores aren't that close, but close enough that customers could conceivably shop at both or either.
There weren't that many spots Amazon Fresh had their eye on in New England, and this one's appeal may come from the fact that Amazon has a warehouse directly across the street.
These dairy and frozen fixtures seem to be standard for Big Y, again, not Amazon Fresh. It would make sense that this store took longer to renovate than the two CT ones if Amazon Fresh had done less when they abandoned the project.
Bakery and deli in the last aisle, with the service departments lining the outside.
Notice that the wall on the back and left sides, where there's prep space beyond the sales floor, doesn't go all the way up to the ceiling. It makes the store feel unfinished, and is particularly noticeable because of the white ceiling. You wouldn't think twice about it if the ceiling were black.
Cafe and self checkouts in the front corner...
...and a look across the front-end.
Nice to see this store finally opening under Big Y, and it's also almost time for them to open a location in Uxbridge, in southern Worcester county. More on that soon, but in the meantime, check out this weekend's other posts here!

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