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TOUR: Market Basket - Leominster, MA

Market Basket Opened: ca. 1990s Owner:  DeMoulas family Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  71 Sack Blvd, Leominster, MA Photographed:  April 7, 2023 It's been a while since we last saw a Market Basket, but as we inch closer to their home territory of northeastern Massachusetts, we'll see more and more of them. The Montachusett Region alone has three between Leominster and Fitchburg, but once we get into Middlesex County, we'll be seeing plenty more. This is a mid-sized Market Basket, a chain whose stores can be over 100,000 square feet or as small as in the 35,000 square foot range. This one clocks in at 65,000 square feet. But inside, it looks exactly like every single other Market Basket. That's not a bad thing, they tend to be extremely well-maintained, perfectly clean, and stocked fully. Below you can see a single light burnt out -- I think that was the single burnt-out light in the entire Market Basket chain. We enter the store to ais...
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Look Inside: Bourbeau's Market - Leominster, MA

Bourbeau's Market Opened: 1984 under current ownership Owner:  John Grimley Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  192 Water St, Leominster, MA Photographed:  April 7, 2023 Boubeau's Market has been here in Leominster for decades, and keeps going strong! It's a small independent grocer and liquor store of just 3000 square feet, and we begin our tour by looking at some historical photos they've posted in the front window. We see the store was previously an IGA -- and I don't know if it's always been in this location; this building dates back to about the 1960s, but it looks like these pictures are of an older, street-front location. And in that picture on the left, is that the old market being demolished? Here's how the store is set up these days: Inside, it feels like a convenience store but has a couple aisles of groceries and a deli and butcher counter in the back. Tomorrow it's time to see another Market Basket. It's just a quarter...

TOUR: Hannaford - Leominster (Downtown), MA

Hannaford Opened: 2004 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  Victory Markets (ca. late 1980s-2004) Cooperative:  none Location:  118 Lancaster St, Leominster, MA Photographed:  March 25, 2023 Remember how the Clinton Hannaford had the older decor package but was renovated after I visited? Well, here in Leominster, I actually visited the Lancaster Street Hannaford as it was getting its renovation to the latest decor package. This location is a little larger than Clinton, around 40,000 square feet. There's a larger and more modern location at the north end of town, which we'll see soon. This Hannaford was previously a Victory Market, dating to the late 1980s, although it seems to have replaced an older store just next door that's been subdivided . Victory was acquired in 2004 by Hannaford chainwide, and it looks like Hannaford renovated the store shortly thereafter (and then, of course, again in 2023, which we see here). Oh, and by the way, check out the sno...

Special Report: Global Farm Marketplace - Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY

Global Farm Marketplace Opened: November 20, 2024 Owner:  unknown Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  1389 Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY Photographed:  December 4, 2024 Our only stop today that's not in the Bronx is this brand-new store in Bushwick, Brooklyn! A new mixed-use building has risen along Broadway on a lot that had been vacant for over 10 years, and on the ground floor is a brand-new, 18,000 square foot supermarket. It's unfortunate timing, though, as the elevated subway line that runs over Broadway and in front of this store is under construction, making Broadway almost impossible to drive and unpleasant to walk. Bushwick residents, though, didn't seem fazed by the construction and were turning out to shop at the new Global Farm Marketplace. I first saw this store while walking through Bushwick in February, when signage was simply advertising an unnamed supermarket coming soon . I commented on the store's interior, sa...