Foodmaster closing update

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I just got back from my local Foodmaster's (Fellsway West and Salem Street, Medford) and it also, sadly, had the omnious STORE CLOSING banner, everything 10% off, sadness.  Employees told me that TODAY (Nov 2) they got word that Stop and Shop had bought the leases of the remaining Foodmasters that Whole Foods didn't want.  One employee (a newer clerk) said he wasn't so sure that a new Stop and Shop store would open in that location, he thought that it was likely they bought the lease just so competition didn't buy it.  Another employee (a long term employee) said she was absolutely certain, because it was in the memo she got, that Stop and Shop was indeed opening in all the locations, and all Foodmaster employees had jobs at this new store, all they had to do was to run through the application.

So the word is varied, but the consensus is that Stop&Shop at least bought the leases.

Comments

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

I think the one on Broadway at 16 is quite small for a Stop & Shop, but I would be okay with it going in. It'll be more expensive than Foodmaster though. I really hope this rumor about all employees having jobs at the new store is true though. Whole Foods has their own specific application process so I doubt they'll be willing to make the same deal, so it would be nice if at least some of the current Foodmaster employees could be guaranteed a continued job.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

The issue will be how long will they have to wait. If it takes 4-5 months to reconfigure the store, you might as well head somewhere else.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Also, I chatted with one guy at the Alewife store who said he'd been working there for 20+ years and that even if Whole Foods hired him there was no way they'd offer him comparable hourly pay and benefits to cover all of the seniority-based raises, vacation time,etc. 4-5 months, then starting on a way lower rung at another store...

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I think the one on Broadway at 16 is quite small for a Stop & Shop, but I would be okay with it going in. It'll be more expensive than Foodmaster though.

I'm not sure about that. I live in Arlington, between the Foodmaster and the Stop & Shop, so I did a lot of direct comparison shopping. Foodmaster always LOOKED like they should be cheaper. But their prices were actually higher for quite a few items. Even at the going-out-of-business sale, with the 10% off, a lot of things were still more expensive than the same things at the Stop & Shop.

(Their meat may be cheaper, and I know meat is a big part of the food budget for some people. It isn't for me.)

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I usually look at some key things that I buy often and know the prices for by heart - coffee, canned soup, milk, eggs, hummus, rice cakes, fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, etc. Foodmaster was lower for all of this than other places I've looked at. I had zero problem with Foodmaster's produce unlike other people I've heard from, and it was much cheaper than at other places I've gone. Although I also admit that I haven't compared with Stop & Shop in a while since the nearest one is still pretty far away.