Stop & Compare Supermarket
Opened: 1996
Truly independent supermarkets are getting harder and harder to find. It's no secret that the supermarket business is a hard one, and heck, it's rough out there for small businesses of any kind at all. But in the northeastern suburbs of Boston, a three-store, fully independent chain is not only running full steam ahead but has recently expanded. Stop & Compare Supermarket, run by members of two longtime food industry families, opened up here in downtown Chelsea back in 1996, later adding a location in Lynn in 2004 and another in 2021.
Recognize the exterior of this building? If it looks familiar, it's because we've seen other stores with the same general facade design before. Check out this Whole Foods and this independent in Boston. These stores were all built by First National Stores -- later Finast -- in the 1950s, but had different paths after that. Here, Finast stayed until the 1980s, when an independent called Oppedisano's Market moved in, closing by the mid-1990s. Stop & Compare, which is unrelated to Compare Foods, opened up by 1996. An Oppedisano's Market sign actually still remains in the store's parking lot...
A note on the name: as a matter of fact, these supermarkets were actually called just Compare Supermarket until fairly recently. It's possible that the owners of the Compare Foods name came after them and they had to change the name.
Heading inside, we see an old-school but nicely maintained small supermarket (it's only about 8000 square feet). Produce is in the front-right corner, with deli and seafood behind that. Meat is on the back wall, dairy is in the back-left corner, and frozen lines the outside of the last aisle on the left side.
As far as I can tell, Stop & Compare is not a member of any cooperative. They're supplied by C&S and use Best Yet storebrand products.
Check out those seriously old-school turquoise meat cases!
It looks like this store has gotten a fresh coat of paint and some new signage since I visited. Notice that the flooring was pretty new when I was here.
There are lots of Latin American foods here, but it's also a full mainstream supermarket. Well, as much of all that as you can have in 8000 square feet.
But even though it's an old building, I got the sense that it was maintained very well. The produce looked nice, the meats were fresh, and it's great to see an independent small chain like this thriving.
Dairy and meat are on the left side of the back wall.
And frozen foods line the last aisle. Again, some old-school cases but in really good shape.
The ceiling is probably original to Finast, too.
The Stop & Compare offices are in this little tiny building just down the block, which looks itself like it could've once been a storefront.
Owner: Calvo and Ianotti families
Previous Tenants: First National Stores (late 1950s-1980s) > Oppedisano's Market (open by 1980s, closed by mid-1990s)
Cooperative: none
Location: 170 Everett Ave, Chelsea, MA
Photographed: July 22, 2019
We'll see the Lynn stores when we get up to that area -- but that's for later. For now, we have two more towns to visit closer to Boston. Tomorrow, we're off to the coastal town of Winthrop!
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