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Banner file photo/Guadazno
A Stop & Shop will replace Provincetown’s one grocery store, a Grand Union Family Market, in early December. |
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Banner file photo/Rose
In 2003, Grand Union Family Markets took the grocery store over from A&P.
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Stop & Shop to take over Grand Union
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — After months of rumors, denials and, more recently, “no comment” from the two corporations, it is now official: the Stop & Shop supermarket chain will be taking over the town’s lone grocery store, now operated by Grand Union Family Markets.
The hand-off will occur in early December, reportedly Dec. 3, and the store will be closed for approximately five days during the transition, although the pharmacy will remain open. Stop & Shop, which will lease the building owned by Chuck Silva, will be expanding the size of the current store by using space formerly occupied by a liquor store and gym around the side of the building which Grand Union has used for storage and summer outdoor furniture sales.
The Banner broke this story Monday on its websites www.wickedlocalprovincetown.com and wickedlocalcapecod.com.
Stop & Shop also announced it will take over the lease of the Grand Union located in Seekonk.
“We’re excited about these new locations,” said senior vice president of sales and operations Mark McGowan. “This affords us an opportunity to provide our neighbors in Provincetown and Seekonk with an engaging shopping experience, and we look forward to offering fresh, high quality products at a good value.”
The Provincetown transaction marks the third Grand Union store location on Cape Cod that Stop & Shop has taken over in the last year. The Quincy-based grocery chain now has 12 stores on the Cape and three on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. In Provincetown, Stop & Shop will purchase the existing lease on the property from Grand Union.
Stop & Shop operates more than 375 stores throughout seven states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey and Maine, as well as a distribution center in Freetown, Mass. The company employs approximately 59,000 people.
Robert Keane, a Stop & Shop spokesman, said all 40 Grand Union associates in Provincetown will be offered a job in the new, expanded store. The same union, United Food & Commercial Workers International, represents workers in both grocery chains.
One current employee in the Provincetown Grand Union said he was told by the union representative for the store that while staffers will have to reapply for their positions, if hired they will retain any seniority benefits they have earned, such as vacation and sick time. That employee, who asked not to be identified, said he expects that current Grand Union workers who want to continue with Stop & Shop will be hired.
“Being here at the end of the world, people [from up Cape] may not want to make that ride to work,” he said, adding, “We feel like we are secure in our positions as far as having jobs.”
Another employee, who also asked not to be identified because employee interviews were scheduled to begin almost immediately, said overall the news is positive.
“In the end, we’ll end up with a good store, hopefully. But we don’t know about our jobs,” she said.
The Grand Union had drawn several complaints over the years for occasionally selling rotted produce, not replacing old store fixtures and not always cleaning in a manner some shoppers wanted. However, several inspections by the town health department never resulted in a citation and any problems were fixed within 24 hours, according to Health Agent Jane Evans. A Grand Union spokesman did not respond to several calls asking for comment on why the chain decided to move out of Provincetown.
Keane said the Stop & Shop transition team was inspecting the store to determine if any upgrades to the interior of the building would be made.
“We’re reviewing the building now,” he said.
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
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Nov 13th, 2008