The Market Report

Gardiner Food Co-op Open: 2015-2023 Owner:  cooperatively owned Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  269 Water St, Gardiner, ME Photographed:  June 18, 2022 Today, we're rounding out the week with a quick look inside the Gardiner Food Co-op. While we've seen a lot of food co-ops across New England , some of which are substantial and full supermarkets, this one was a small store. It only measured about 2200 square feet but was right on the main street here in Gardiner. Unfortunately, it closed after just a relatively short tenure, opening in 2015 and closing in 2023. My pictures here are from the summer of 2022. The grocery store focused on natural foods and also had a small cafe. The member-owners of this store voted to close due to financial problems, they said in a sad and heartfelt Facebook post . It's always sad to see an independent grocer closing, and particularly one that's cooperatively owned because it was a team effort to keep the ...

Hannaford Opened: ca. early 00s Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  Shop 'n Save (1979-early 00s) Cooperative:  none Location:  40 Maine Ave, Gardiner, ME Photographed:  June 11, 2022 Not my best photography, I know, but here's a look at the Hannaford in downtown Gardiner, Maine. The roughly 40,000 square foot store dates back to 1979, when it opened as a smaller Shop 'n Save that became Hannaford in the early 00s. Hannaford probably renovated the store shortly after taking it over. Gardiner has recently lost a small grocery store, and that's what we'll be taking a look at tomorrow. Come back to check it out!

Shaw's Opened: unknown Owner:  Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  150 Western Ave, Augusta, ME Photographed:  August 12, 2019 Our last stop here in Augusta is the Shaw's to the west of downtown. At over 70,000 square feet, it's very large for a Shaw's (heck, it's pretty big compared to most supermarkets in northern New England at that size). I don't know much of the history here, but the building is clearly cobbled together from a few different storefronts or possibly expansions they've done over time. Most recently, it was probably redone outside around 2005. Inside, the store has a familiar Shaw's look . There's also two Hannafords here in Augusta, one slightly larger and one a bit smaller , along with a few small grocers. So now, while we're done with the city of Augusta, we're not done with this area quite yet. Tomorrow, The Market Report travels to the next city south, Gardiner, for a look at t...

Original Grocery Tenant: A&P Address: 47 Western Ave, Augusta, ME Opened:  ca. 1960 Closed:  by 1983 Later Tenants:  U-Haul (open by 1983) Photographed:  August 12, 2019 I hardly even need to say what the original tenant here was as this store design is instantly recognizable. it's amazing how well it's been preserved, too, more than 50 years after it was built. A&P closed here no later than 1983, and U-Haul was open no later than that year. The full building is a little over 20,000 square feet, but A&P's size was a few thousand square feet smaller as I assume this section was previously another tenant... The cupola on top of the building is looking particularly good! It's rare to see these buildings maintained with such meticulous detail. Tomorrow, we're headed just down the street for a look at another supermarket here in Augusta. Stay tuned!

Hannaford Opened: 2009 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  118 Cony St, Augusta, ME Photographed:  August 12, 2019 Welcome to one of the Hannafords in Augusta! Of the chain supermarkets in town, this is actually the smallest, coming in around 50,000 square feet (the Shaw's in town is closer to 70,000 square feet and the other Hannaford is even larger, at just under 75,000 square feet). It's also the newest supermarket in Augusta. This store was built from the ground up in 2009, replacing an older location a couple blocks away. More on that soon. I assume, though I'm not sure, that it hasn't been renovated since opening, and I'm not sure whether it's been remodeled since I took these pictures in 2019. As we can see, even a decade after its opening, it still looked practically like a brand-new store. I don't know how it's held up in the subsequent years, but it's a really nice supermarket. It's a standard H...