The Market Report

Original Grocery Tenant: A&P Address:  194 North St, Bennington, VT Opened: ca. 1960 Closed: unknown Later Tenants: assorted non-grocery tenants Photographed: August 8, 2021 Just across from yesterday's former Grand Union is this former A&P. Behind all these multiple generations of facades, there's actually an A&P centennial store buried, constructed around 1960 at about 11,000 square feet. The space was later expanded (possibly in the 1970s) to around 30,000 square feet, though I'm not certain whether A&P occupied the whole building. Eventually, this store came under A&P's WEO discount brand before closing, though I'm not sure exactly when. You can get a little bit of a sense of the centennial facade peeking through here, but it's much more apparent in aerial photographs. You can also see a little from the back, which has more recently gotten a stucco-type facade similar to what's now on the front. If I had to guess, I would say th...

River Valley Market Opened: ca. 1980s Owner: unknown Previous Tenants: unknown Cooperative: none Location: 661 VT-100, Wilmington, VT Photographed: August 9, 2021 Just down VT-100 from the under-construction Snow Mountain Market is this similar small grocer, the River Valley Market. This one has been around a bit longer than Snow Mountain, having opened around the 1980s. It's a little smaller than Snow Mountain, too, measuring slightly under 9,000 square feet, and looks somewhat more upscale. I drove by after it had closed for the night, so sadly no interior pictures here. The interior looks more like a small general store, and it even has an attached garden center. There's also a wine store , and produce and a bakery . This isn't exactly a full service supermarket, but there is one (albeit a small one) in Wilmington about three miles south. That's tomorrow's post!

Snow Mountain Market Open: 2008-2025; reopening soon Owner: Lindsay & Zach Schonberger Previous Tenants: unknown Cooperative: Associated Grocers of New England Location: 323 VT-100, West Dover, VT Photographed: August 9, 2021 In the ski town of Dover, Vermont, near the Mount Snow Resort, we find the Snow Mountain Market. This small supermarket of about 10,000 square feet opened in 2008 (not sure what was here prior) and closed in 2025. But there's good news here: it actually closed for a major renovation and expansion, which is currently underway, and is expected to reopen soon . Here's a sneak peek inside the new store, and you can see it prior to the remodel here . While I doubt I'll be returning to this area soon, I'm excited to see what comes of the big renovation here. Another independent small grocer is just down the road south on VT-100, and that's where we're headed tomorrow!

Wardsboro Country Store Opened: 1882 Owner: Matt & Mindy St. Peter Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 23 Main St, Wardsboro, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 Today's stop is a quick look at the Wardsboro Country Store in the center of the small town of Wardsboro, Vermont. It's another long-running general store, dating back to 1882. I haven't been inside and haven't seen many pictures online, but it does seem like it's still a small grocer (about 4,000 square feet), with a deli and some basic foods, but definitely not a supermarket. Wardsboro is just east of the Green Mountain National Forest and near several ski resorts, so tomorrow we're going to head to the south very close to a ski resort to check out the local grocer there!

Putney General Store Opened: 2019 under current ownership, 1796 previously Owner: Kim and Mike Cosco Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 4 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 Across town from the Putney Food Co-op is the Putney General Store, continuously operating as a general store since 1796. This small corner grocer isn't a full supermarket, but like the co-op, has a lot to offer in its historic interior even if it measures just about 3500 square feet. Putney has a general store and a food co-op, and that's actually a great representation of how a lot of small-town Vermont gets their food. The co-op culture is strong here, but so is the enduring tradition of general stores. One thing we haven't really seen yet, though, is a full-scale independent supermarket in Vermont. We'll see one in our next stop while heading north, about 12 miles north along the river from here!

Putney Food Co-op Opened:  1992 in current location; 1941 previously Owner: cooperatively owned Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: National Co-op Grocers Location: 8 Carol Brown Way, Putney, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 Putney is home to a food co-op like Brattleboro , but the store here in Putney is smaller at only around 7000 square feet. The food co-op opened up here in 1992, moving from its previous location on Kimball Hill where it had been in business since 1941 (it was formed to help small-town residents get food and supplies during World War II). An interesting note on the history from the co-op's website : Carol Brown was the founder of the co-op, and now, the street it's on is named after her. Despite the store's small size , it still has a kitchen, coffee shop, and small cafe. Putney doesn't have a large supermarket, so this store and the other small grocer in town fill the gap. Come back tomorrow to see that one!

Hannaford Opened: 1996 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants: unknown Cooperative: none Location: 896 Putney Rd, Brattleboro, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 Though this part of Brattleboro lost a supermarket when the Grand Union (and briefly the Hot Dot discount supermarket) closed in 1999, but it's possible that the Hot Dot was put out of business by this Hannaford's 1996 opening. At the very least, the opening of this 45,000 square foot supermarket didn't help business over at Hot Dot, and upon its closure, Hannaford took out full-page newspaper ads in the local paper advertising their low prices every day and welcoming former Hot Dot customers. Like the vast majority of Hannaford stores, this one has the latest decor package and seems to look quite nice inside. Up next, The Market Report heads north along the Connecticut River to Putney, about six miles away!

Original Grocery Tenant: Grand Union Address: 766 Putney Rd, Brattleboro, VT Opened: 1970s Closed: 1998 Later Tenants:  Hot Dot Discount (1998-1999) Photographed: August 10, 2021 In the same mall as yesterday's ALDI is this former Grand Union. Grand Union built this store of around 33,000 square feet in the 1970s, though I haven't been able to pinpoint an exact year, and it closed in 1998 as the chain struggled. One strategy Grand Union attempted, to save their failing locations, was converting them to a discount format called Hot Dot Discount. Unfortunately, here Hot Dot only lasted a year, closing in 1999, two years before the rest of the chain declared bankruptcy. A new Hannaford had just been constructed up the street, opening in 1996, and it's possible that store put this one out of business. The space has subsequently been split up. Grand Union was headquartered just outside of Paterson, New Jersey, but had a large base of stores in upstate New York and then acr...

ALDI Opened: 2014 Owner: ALDI Sud Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 762 Putney Rd, Brattleboro, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 One of Brattleboro's big chain supermarkets is this ALDI, opened as a new-build store right around the time the Brattleboro Food Co-op also opened its present location. It seems to be a very straightforward ALDI of around 16,000 square feet, but the Green Mountain State only has three ALDIs (the others are in Rutland and Bennington). Tomorrow, we'll check out a former supermarket right next to this one!

Original Grocery Tenant: Brattleboro IGA Address: 23 Marlboro Rd, Brattleboro, VT Opened: 1994 Closed:  by 2009 Later Tenants: non-grocery tenants Photographed: August 13, 2021 This Dollar General just to the northwest of downtown Brattleboro was the Brattleboro IGA, opening in 1994 and closing no later than 2009. It's just under 20,000 square feet. An illustrious character named Jason Bushnell also owned an IGA in West Brattleboro for decades in the first part of the 20th century, but it doesn't look like that store was connected to this one in any way. This store is just west of Brattleboro on VT-9, the highway that runs along the southern part of Vermont from Brattleboro to Bennington, then becomes route 7 in New York and goes to the Capital Region. We'll see lots more stores on and near VT-9, but for now, we're headed north to see a couple more spots in Brattleboro!

ALDI Opened:  2016 Owner: Aldi Sud Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative: none Location: 270 Amherst St, Nashua, NH Photographed: October 10, 2021 Right across the street from Nashua's first Whole Foods location is this ALDI, which opened in 2016. It doesn't look like it, but it was actually a new-build location -- the majority of new-build ALDIs seem to be freestanding, not in strip malls like this. Tomorrow, we'll be seeing another big-chain supermarket just south of here!

Shaw's Opened: ca. late 1990s Owner: Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 586 Nashua St, Milford, NH Photographed:  November 21, 2023 Having seen Merrimack to the north of Nashua, now we're headed slightly west to Milford  to take a quick look at a Shaw's. It looks to be on the larger side -- around 75,000 square feet -- and had its original 1990s signage until a ca. 2023 or so remodel. Now, it looks like a pretty straightforward Shaw's both inside and out. In addition to a Market Basket across town, Milford was previously home to one of the short-lived Super Stop & Shop outposts in New Hampshire. We've seen Exeter and Bedford , which became Hannafords, but this one is now an Ocean State Job Lot , which only fills part of the former supermarket. At 70,000 square feet, this Milford Stop & Shop is actually slightly smaller than the Shaw's. Tomorrow, we're rounding out the week with The Market Report's first...

Hannaford Opened: 1990s Owner: Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants: Sun Foods (1984-1990s) Cooperative: none Location: 481 West St, Keene, NH Photographed: August 13, 2021 It's time for the final supermarket of this region of New Hampshire! This Hannaford is just outside of downtown Keene, and was built in the 1980s as a Hannaford-owned Sun Foods warehouse store. The store spans about 65,000 square feet, on the larger side for Hannaford. It's near an ALDI and a Price Chopper, with a Market Basket slightly farther away, but right downtown in Keene is the beautiful Monadnock Food Co-op, which you can tour here . For now, enjoy the weekend, and see you in Nashua next week!

Shaw's Opened: ca. 2004 Owner: Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 276 W Main St, Hillsborough, NH Photographed: August 13, 2021 Another early-00s Shaw's (see here and here for other recent examples) is this 58,000 square foot unit in Hillsborough. It was remodeled shortly after I drove through town, probably in late 2021 or early 2022, to the current Shaw's decor but previously had its original decor package still intact. Tomorrow is the final day of this region, with a look at two stores in Keene!

Market Basket Opened:  2012 Owner: Demoulas family Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 460 Elm St, Manchester, NH Photographed: January 8, 2025 The city of Manchester has seen a lot of growth and development in recent years, and one example is this Market Basket on a formerly industrial property just south of downtown. This massive supermarket, which measures about 100,000 square feet (making it one of the largest in New Hampshire), was built from the ground up in 2012, and you can see an example of some of the new construction in the area right behind it. Directly across the street from this supermarket is a small Himalayan food store, which you can see more about here . Tomorrow, The Market Report heads to the southern Manchester suburb of Bedford!

Shaw's Opened: ca. 2000 Owner: Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants: none Cooperative:  none Location: 1400 Lakeshore Dr, Gilford, NH Photographed: August 16, 2025 This exterior gives us a clue as to this Shaw's history, as it's a variation on the early-00s exterior common for Shaw's. Historic aerial photos date this particular location to around 2000, likely replacing an older store elsewhere in town. This store lost its pharmacy between 2018 and 2022, and until very recently had the Premium Fresh & Healthy 1.0 decor (see inside here ). A remodel just wrapped up here, though. There's a Hannaford directly across the street and a Walmart next door. These stores are all practically on the shore of the Paugus Bay, but across Gilford is the better-known Lake Winnipesaukee (which is also much larger). We have one more Shaw's to see in central NH before we move south, so come back tomorrow to visit one right near the Vermont border!