Tops Friendly Markets - Hardwick, VT

Tops Friendly Markets

Opened: 2013

Owner: Northeast Grocery

Previous Tenants: Grand Union (closed 2001) > Grand Union Family Markets (2001-2013)

Cooperative: none

Location: 82 VT-15, Hardwick, VT

Photographed: August 13, 2025

In addition to the longtime Buffalo Mountain Market in Hardwick, the small town has a Tops -- one of just two in Vermont. The Tops is a bit larger than Buffalo Mountain, measuring around 18,000 square feet or so, and it's actually smaller than it might look in the picture above because the right half of the building was previously a Rite Aid and then a Walgreens. This Tops was originally a Grand Union, which transitioned to Grand Union Family Markets in 2001 and sold to Tops in 2013. (You can read more about the Grand Union and the food of Hardwick in this 2011 article from NPR.) For the next several days, we'll be headed west from Hardwick on Vermont Route 15, so stay tuned for more in this area!