Londonderry Village Market - Londonderry, VT

Londonderry Village Market
Opened: 2019

Owner: Associated Grocers of New England

Previous Tenants: Clark's Quality Foods IGA (1975-2019)

Cooperative: Associated Grocers of New England

Location: 5700 VT-100, Londonderry, VT

Photographed: August 10, 2021

Down the road from Mike & Tammy's is Londonderry's full service supermarket. From 1975 until the store's sale in 2019, this 25,000 square foot supermarket was Clark's IGA. When Clark's owners retired, they sold the store to Associated Grocers of New England. This is now one of a handful of corporate-owned stores that the cooperative runs, along with some other Village Market stores in Vermont and others like Vista Foods. This is the first of several Village Market stores that I'll be posting.

It doesn't look like AGNE did much renovation when they moved in, and truthfully the store doesn't really need it. It's not brand-new but a very nice small-town grocer. Produce and bakery are on the right side in the first aisle, with deli and prepared foods at the back. Meat lines the rest of the back wall. Natural foods and wine are in the first couple aisles, with dairy/frozen and beer on the left side.

The Vista Foods I linked above in New Hampshire is a noticeable step down compared to AGNE's corporate stores here in Vermont. These VT locations are really well-run and much nicer stores. AGNE is based in Pembroke, NH, just outside Concord.

This is a pitched-roof store, which you can tell from the roofline outside but it's really fun that the ceiling is open inside to get the maximum effect.

It's becoming increasingly common for cooperatives to take on corporate stores (just look at Wakefern, which now owns nearly 100 stores alongside its members), or suppliers to acquire their customers when they're looking to sell (think Bozzuto's acquiring Roche Bros). It's nice to see these stores continue on, especially with fairly local owners instead of going to big corporate chains.

Now we're continuing to head south, and tomorrow's stop will be back towards Brattleboro. Come back to check it out!