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Food Universe Marketplace - Waterbury, CT

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By Zachary
Food Universe Marketplace
Opened: October 9, 2025
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: none; Waterbury Farms/Key Food Marketplace planned but never opened
Cooperative: Key Food Stores
Location: 96 Grove St, Waterbury, CT
Photographed: October 30, 2025
This recently-opened Food Universe in Waterbury has an interesting history. Even though it's a new-build store, it wasn't built for Food Universe. Instead, it was originally contructed by the Hassen family starting in 2016 and first slated to be Waterbury Farms. Later, signage went up advertising a Key Food Marketplace around the same time the Hassens bought the Town Plot IGA and converted it to a Key Food Marketplace across town. That store then briefly became Banana Fresh Market and is now a Key Food again but under new ownership. Similarly, a different Key Food owner has taken over this Grove Street store and after finishing the construction that was started but never completed, has opened this one as a Food Universe at the beginning of October.
Next door at 91 Cooke St, an A&P built in the late 1940s or around 1950 stayed a supermarket for decades. A&P remained there until at least the late 1970s, and by around 2000 it had become a CTown. CTown burned down around 2005, and a Family Dollar now stands on that property.
Waterbury has a number of other supermarkets, including a Save-A-Lot about half a mile away. This store is only 12,500 square feet, but is very attractive and well-appointed. Produce is in the front-right corner, with beer soon to be added at the back of the produce department (it was soda and other bottled beverages when I visited, presumably because they hadn't gotten their license yet). The meat department begins in the first grocery aisle and then continues across the back wall, with a service butcher counter in the back-left corner. Service seafood, deli, and hot foods are in the rest of the last aisle. Dairy is in the last aisle with frozen foods in the second-to-last aisle.
At the end of September, Key Food switched from UNFI to C&S as their primary distributor (C&S had supplied Key Food for many years when they switched to UNFI in 2021). Most Key Food storebrand items are under their own Urban Meadow brand, but some supplemental items come from the wholesaler -- for the past few years, it's been Essential Everyday, and now I'm starting to see a handful of Best Yet items. I don't know for sure that it's related, too, but I've seen some much better sales at the various Key Food-affiliated stores I've visited in the last few weeks than before.
Cold cuts at the back of the first aisle here. Notice that the grocery shelving is tall, for more selection in the small store.
It does look like the original Key Food owners hadn't built out the interior when they abandoned this project, so the interior does appear to have been built to the specs of the Food Universe owner.
Some of these frozen cases might be secondhand from elsewhere, as they don't look brand new to me. Still, everything is in very good shape and has all been painted, at the very least, to match.
Butcher and seafood in the back of the last aisle, with deli/bakery in the front half. The dairy cases opposite the service counters look new.
As you can see, this small store has a lot to offer. The nearest supermarket is that Save-A-Lot, which is definitely not full-service like this one is.
No in-store bakery, but baked goods are up at the front of the last few aisles.
I really like the lighting on the front-end and in the produce department, which is similar to what we saw at the Woodland Park SuperFresh. In fact, that store's decor is very similar to this one.
Good to see this store finally open up, even if it is almost 10 years after the construction had started. Better late than never, I suppose! Here's a look at this weekend's other posts:
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