The Market Report

ACME Markets Opened:  2016 Previous Tenants:  A&P (1960s-2016) Location:  160 W Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT Photographed:  May 2019 This store is actually a former Centennial model A&P which was expanded out the front wall, many years ago by A&P, to just 23,000 square feet (the original store was just 17,000 square feet). The store's tiny sign and odd orientation on the property suggest some fairly strict zoning laws in effect here. See the Stop & Shop directly across the street here or by going to the next older post!

Stop & Shop Opened:  2001 Previous Tenants:  Grand Union Location:  161 W Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT Photographed:  May 2019 This former Grand Union comes in at just over 19,000 square feet. Given its location just outside the center of very upscale Greenwich, it's been recently  renovated to a passable version of the blandest supermarket decor known to mankind. It's also directly across the street from an A&P-turned-ACME which you can see here ! We also have another Greenwich store today, a tour of the Citarella Gourmet Market over on The Independent Edition .

ACME Markets Opened:  2016 Previous Tenants:  A&P (1960s-2016) Location:  1201 High Ridge Rd, Stamford, CT Photographed:  May 2019 We saw the ACME in Shrub Oak, NY about a month ago, which is a former A&P Centennial model that ACME took over in A&P's 2015-16 bankruptcy. It's a nicely maintained Fresh 1.0 store that ACME seems to be taking good care of. But this store is deeeeeeeeeluxe -- even if it's only 21,000 square feet and the only significant addition made to the store is two loading docks in the back. It had the A&P Fresh 3.0 renovation, which ACME modified by painting the ceiling white when they moved in. Soon thereafter, ACME did a full remodel on the place, bringing it to a very nicely done Quality Built treatment. While A&P went very modern with the 3.0, ACME has changed the store to a much warmer feel, with softer colors, wood-look flooring, and the old photos of the city that make up the backbone of Quality Built...

Stop & Shop Opened:  1970s-2019 Location:  148 Heights Rd, Darien, CT Photographed:  May 2019 This longtime Stop & Shop looks pretty much the same outside now as it did in the 1970s when it opened, save for the fact that the tiny 1970s-era signage has been replaced by tiny 2000s-era signage. I'm assuming it has to do with the local zoning regulations. This store, which opened as a Medimart (later Walgreens) / Stop & Shop combo, has closed in December 2019. The 30,000 square foot store had to be one of the smallest and oldest in operation at the time of its closure. (There's a second Stop & Shop still in business across town.) It's also just across the street from a 23,000 square foot IGA, Palmer's Market, which we'll be touring on The Independent Edition tomorrow!

CTown Supermarkets Owner:  Edwin Sanchez Opened:  2013 Previous Tenants:  Compare Foods Supermarket (2010-2011) Cooperative:  Krasdale Location: 7 Washington St, Norwalk, CT Photographed:  May 2019 This CTown opened in 2013 replacing a short-lived Compare Foods in central SoNo. The storefront faces a huge municipal parking lot , while the back actually faces Washington St. The side that faces the street has been nicely designed. A pleasant (and gentrifying) business district lines the other side of the municipal lot just around the corner on Main St. Like the downtown Key Food, this store is absolutely packed with merchandise. The produce department takes up the front corner, with dairy in the first aisle. Service deli, bakery, and butcher line the back wall with frozen and meat in the last aisle. While the store was a little disorganized, there was a lot of stocking going on. All signs point to this store doing a big business. ...

Key Food Supermarkets Owner:  Anthony Peña Opened:  2016 Previous Tenants:  City Supermarkets (2007-2016) Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  717 West Ave, Norwalk, CT Photographed:  May 2019 We arrive in downtown Norwalk for a store tour at our second CityMarket Key Food (this one is actually co-branded with the two names, while Bridgeport only has that on the monument sign). The owners also briefly operated a store just over the border in Port Chester, NY . This store's central downtown location is likely quite advantageous to it. I don't know much history of this approximately 9,000 square foot supermarket, but the facade looks vaguely like a drugstore facade. We enter to find a large produce department, with meat running along the first aisle. Beyond that I honestly do not remember the layout, although I believe dairy is in the last aisle with butcher and deli on the back wall. As we'll see, this store seems to do big busi...