112 Rockingham St, Bellows Falls, VT

Original Grocery Tenant: Buffum's Supermarket

Address: 112 Rockingham St, Bellows Falls, VT

Opened: between 1956 and 1962

Closed: after 1995

Later Tenants: Rite Aid > Walgreens

Photographed: August 10, 2021

Bellows Falls, Vermont is a quaint small town along the Connecticut River, where the water cuts through a gorge on the border between Vermont and New Hampshire. For decades, the town was served by an A&P supermarket (later Grand Union) as well as this independent, Buffum's Supermarket. This space is around 15,000 square feet, apparently constructed by Buffum's between 1956 and 1962, though it looks like it might've replaced an older building on the same property.

From the closure of Buffum's until 2010, Bellows Falls didn't have a full-size supermarket, it seems, though there was a small corner grocer called Lisai's Red & White. In 2010, Lisai's moved into the former A&P building, and that'll be tomorrow's post! But before we head over there, let's check out one other building in town...

Original Grocery Tenant: unknown

Address: 83 Westminster St, Bellows Falls, VT

Opened: unknown

Closed: unknown

Later Tenants: various non-grocery tenants

Photographed: August 10, 2021

This spot on the south end of town sure has the look of an old-school supermarket (something like a Finast?) but in all my searching, I couldn't find any connection between Finast and this building. However, there was definitely a Finast in Bellows Falls, at least during the 1970s (though I couldn't pin down an address). That's all for now, but come back tomorrow to see the remaining supermarket here in Bellows Falls!