Stop & Shop to Clarendon Hill?

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1146195664/Somerville-could-see-2-new-supermarkets-at-Assembly-and-Clarendon-Hill#axzz2IqCpMAEg

Looks like S&S wants the old Foodmaster location.

Comments

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Better Stop & Shop than Whole Paycheck, I guess.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Oh please please please let this actually be happening! They do have another store rather nearby, in Arlington, but it's a few miles down the road on Mass Ave so it should be okay. I would be very happy with this :)

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Any regular-old-supermarket there seems better than an empty storefront and a liquor store! Especially one I don't hate, even if I am still loyal to Market Basket.

Stop n Shop in the old Foodmaster slot, and a mega-giant Market Basket to rival the one in Chelsea at Assembly Square...now that'd be awesome.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm just worried that S&S might have bought the storefront to keep away competition, but keep it empty. That would be awful. Now I'm eagerly anticipating next week...

[jadelennox]

I wouldn't be surprised if the city would basically make that impossible. That would be terrible for the city, and when it comes to supermarket purchases/leases, they usually have the legal power to prevent that kind of thing.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

How could the city stop anyone from buying a property and leaving it empty?

I thought the city just regulates construction, and what businesses are allowed to operate.

[ron_newman]

If a new grocery store replaces the old grocery store, no permits will be needed at all, other than the usual building permits for interior demolition and construction.

[ron_newman]

Echoing boblothrope, I don't see how the city could regulate this at all. (I also doubt it will happen; it would make no sense for Stop & Stop to simultaneously give up potential new customers and antagonize its existing ones.)

[jadelennox]

Hopefully it won't suck as much as the Arlington store, which is really terrible. But it's a larger space, so it should be good. There are plenty of decent Stop & Shops in the world.

I mean I'd rather have Market Basket in Stop & Shop, but then I'd rather have Stop & Shop then either Whole Paycheck or an empty store, so I'll call this a win.

[ron_newman]

Still pretty small, though -- 25,338 sq ft including the adjoining liquor store (which I assume will stay). In an earlier thread, I compared the square footage of each Somerville grocery store.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Considering the parking situation at the Somerville Market Basket... be careful what you wish for.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't know... a second Market Basket in Somerville could mean less traffic at the Union Square one and easier parking at both. It's true that Market Basket tends to have crazy parking lots, but I don't think that's a reason to argue against putting in a new one.

That being said, I don't think a Market Basket is a great fit for that spot. Their newer stores are much larger, and the parking lot at the old Foodmaster is small and sloped. Unless they saw the opportunity to get into that neighborhood as being worth the sacrifice of a smaller store, I doubt it's going to happen.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

While I would expect some MB shoppers not to go to the other store, I would think this location takes from S&S & Shaws. One huge drawback to the Clarendon Hill location is that there isn't any intuitive place for Somerville residents to park outside the lot (unlike the Union Sq location). You really have to go looking to find an on-street spot (unless you go into Arlington which I think is technically limited for a decent distance beyond the city line).

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with the Arlington store? I've only been there once and I didn't have any problems with it. Except that it's different from the one that I grew up with because of all the changes to their branding :(

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

My in-laws live in Arlington; from what they've told me about their shopping experiences, the traffic pattern is horrible. Since the Foodmaster near Arl Ctr closed, traffic to and from the S&S is worse.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Oh, true. I've only walked there but I remember the traffic being awful. Maybe the traffic will get better if they put one in at Bway and 16!

[ron_newman]

I filled out the customer service form on Stop & Shop's website, asking when the West Somerville store will open. I got this reply:

We do have plans to open a new store in Somerville, MA, but we do not have a date scheduled for the opening at this time. We value your business and look forward to serving you at the new store.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

If Stop and Shop is considering putting a store in at Assembly Square, I have to wonder what they're thinking. I hope it's a Market Basket or Trader Joe's.

[ron_newman]

The article doesn't say which grocer might locate in Assembly Square. Stop & Shop seems the least likely, since they're just down the road on McGrath.

[ceo]

A 130Ksf Trader Joe's seems unlikely. (But would be awesome.)

[teko.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't be a Stop & Shop, and I frankly don't see a Market Basket fitting into the theme of Assembly Square.

Maybe something like a Fresh Market (http://www.thefreshmarket.com)?

[ceo]

Or Wegman's.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

Or Jungle Jim's

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I was at the public hearing at City Hall tonight where Federal Reality was petitioning the City to get the current zoning guidelines (allowing for a 50,000 square foot grocery). The plan they proposed for the former IKEA site was about 80-100,000 sq ft for a single-story sprawling grocery store, with a 5-level parking structure. (The site will have an entrance to the Assembly Sq Orange Line T stop right next to it.) Of course Federal Reality did not mention any potential grocer at this time. They said they have been approached by several grocers.

[ron_newman]

I'm all for having a big grocery store, but it should be the first floor of a mixed-use building. Wouldn't Federal Realty make more money by putting offices above the supermarket?

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Many of us at the hearing expected to see what you describe (multi-story mixed use with grocery on first floor), and some spoke quite well about that. But Federal Realty just stuck to its proposal to build a single-story suburban type sprawling supermarket, which they say they can build in a hurry. It's a real treasure of a location (entrance to the T right there and steps from the waterfront, new office/retail/residential development) and I'd hate to see that site squandered by an unimaginative use that is not in keeping with the Somervision Plan. And as a taxpayer looking forward to how the site can maximize the tax base, the proposed under-utilization bothers me as well.