Shaw's - Stowe, VT

Shaw's

Opened: 2001

Owner: Albertsons Companies

Previous Tenants: Grand Union (ca. 1970s-2001)

Cooperative: none

Location: 751 Maple St, Stowe, VT

Photographed: August 10, 2025

In New Jersey, my home state, the majority of the Grand Union stores that closed in the chain's 2001 bankruptcy went to Stop & Shop. In upstate New York, a lot went to Tops. In the lower Hudson Valley, Key Food took over quite a few locations. Here in Vermont, though, many transitioned to Shaw's. Here's a look at another (I've previously posted locations in Montpelier, Manchester, and Wilmington).

Like Montpelier and Wilmington, this store is tiny. In fact, at just over 12,000 square feet, I believe this is the smallest Shaw's in the chain, and one of the smallest stores owned by Albertsons Companies. As I mentioned on the previous posts, though, there's not really an opportunity to expand or rebuild elsewhere, so this very old-school store keeps going.

Produce is up in the front-right corner, with cold cuts and baked goods in the rest of the first aisle. Deli and meat/seafood (yes, there's even a tiny service seafood counter) line the back wall, with beer/wine, frozen, and dairy on the left side.

This store is slightly larger than the other grocer in town, the Stowe Village Market (formerly Mac's). If there's a basement in either store, which is possible, their total size would be larger even if the footprint is this small. You can see ways that Shaw's keeps this store feeling somewhat premium in the high-end resort area we're in with things like the expanded cheese department even in this tiny store. You'll see some empty shelves around the store in these pictures, and what I can tell you is that this store was very busy with summer tourists when I was here. That's what I'd assume caused the empty shelves, since the other Shaw's I visited in this area seemed to be well-run and well-stocked.

It was actually after the most recent remodel that Shaw's replaced the flooring in the whole store, and you can see the previous flooring (from the Grand Union days) in this picture. Unlike many locations, it doesn't look like this one got new refrigeration recently, but instead just refreshed the existing cases.

Beer and frozen/dairy are all jammed into the last aisle, with frozen continuing onto the front wall. Eight aisles and four checkouts -- very small for a Shaw's, or for an Albertsons Companies store in general.

From Stowe, The Market Report is traveling about 16 miles northeast to the small town of Hardwick. Come back tomorrow to tour one of the supermarkets there!