The Market Report

Original Grocery Tenant: unknown Address: 13 W Main St, Dudley, MA Opened:  unknown Closed:  unknown Later Tenants:  Brooks Pharmacy > Rite Aid > Dollar General Photographed:  September 25, 2020 Unlike yesterday's post that I'm now convinced was previously a car dealership, I'm equally certain that this building right on the border between Webster and Dudley was originally a grocery store. The roughly 12,500 square foot building has distinct similarities to supermarkets of the 1940s  (especially the blocked-out windows along the sides), and was constructed before 1966 according to Historic Aerials. Later in life, the space became a Brooks Pharmacy and then a Rite Aid, and is now a Dollar General. (We've seen that progression before .) And on Monday, we'll be headed into downtown Webster for a look at a store that definitely was previously a supermarket!

Park 'n Shop Owner: Kevin Meehan Opened:  1960 Cooperative:  none Location:  14 Airport Rd, Dudley, MA Photographed:  October 10, 2020 It's finally time for us to tour a Park 'n Shop! Park 'n Shop is a small chain of currently two supermarkets (Dudley and Auburn), but there's a third on the way in Mendon. The chain originated in Webster in 1918 with a small grocery store, then ultimately building up to a chain with independent supermarkets in Webster, Auburn, Dudley, and Blackstone. As the chain began to struggle, Webster closed in the 1990s, then Blackstone closed in 2022. The chain's founding family, the Pappas family, sold Park 'n Shop in 2021 to Worcester County businessman Kevin Meehan, who has since renovated the two remaining stores. The Dudley one is tucked away in the back of a strip mall off the main street, but it still seems to do fine. It's the only supermarket in Dudley, and its nearest competitors are a Big Y five and a half miles west a...