The Market Report

Shaw's Opened: 2001 Owner: Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants: Grand Union (ca. 1970s-2001) Cooperative: none Location: 97 E Main St, Wilmington, VT Photographed: August 7, 2021 One look at the outside of this store will tell you it's definitely not the average Shaw's. In fact, this store is pretty small for Shaw's (around 20,000 square feet), and that's because it's a Grand Union that was built in the 1970s and appears to actually have lasted all the way to Grand Union's final bankruptcy in 2001. It's in the small town of Wilmington, Vermont, which is roughly halfway between Brattleboro and Bennington. The interior is freshly renovated by Shaw's and really looks good, but we can tell it's an old building. Produce is in the front-left corner and continues down the first aisle, with a tiny bakery behind it and deli on the back wall next to meat. Frozen and dairy are on the right side, with beer and wine in the front-right corner. This dec...

River Valley Market Opened: ca. 1980s Owner: unknown Previous Tenants: unknown Cooperative: none Location: 661 VT-100, Wilmington, VT Photographed: August 9, 2021 Just down VT-100 from the under-construction Snow Mountain Market is this similar small grocer, the River Valley Market. This one has been around a bit longer than Snow Mountain, having opened around the 1980s. It's a little smaller than Snow Mountain, too, measuring slightly under 9,000 square feet, and looks somewhat more upscale. I drove by after it had closed for the night, so sadly no interior pictures here. The interior looks more like a small general store, and it even has an attached garden center. There's also a wine store , and produce and a bakery . This isn't exactly a full service supermarket, but there is one (albeit a small one) in Wilmington about three miles south. That's tomorrow's post!

Snow Mountain Market Open: 2008-2025; reopening soon Owner: Lindsay & Zach Schonberger Previous Tenants: unknown Cooperative: Associated Grocers of New England Location: 323 VT-100, West Dover, VT Photographed: August 9, 2021 In the ski town of Dover, Vermont, near the Mount Snow Resort, we find the Snow Mountain Market. This small supermarket of about 10,000 square feet opened in 2008 (not sure what was here prior) and closed in 2025. But there's good news here: it actually closed for a major renovation and expansion, which is currently underway, and is expected to reopen soon . Here's a sneak peek inside the new store, and you can see it prior to the remodel here . While I doubt I'll be returning to this area soon, I'm excited to see what comes of the big renovation here. Another independent small grocer is just down the road south on VT-100, and that's where we're headed tomorrow!

Wardsboro Country Store Opened: 1882 Owner: Matt & Mindy St. Peter Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 23 Main St, Wardsboro, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 Today's stop is a quick look at the Wardsboro Country Store in the center of the small town of Wardsboro, Vermont. It's another long-running general store, dating back to 1882. I haven't been inside and haven't seen many pictures online, but it does seem like it's still a small grocer (about 4,000 square feet), with a deli and some basic foods, but definitely not a supermarket. Wardsboro is just east of the Green Mountain National Forest and near several ski resorts, so tomorrow we're going to head to the south very close to a ski resort to check out the local grocer there!

LIDL Opened: August 26, 2026 Owner: Schwarz Group Previous Tenants:  none; Key Food (1970s-2021) previously on site Cooperative: none Location: 573 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY Photographed: September 4, 2026 LIDL continues to expand in and around New York City, but as the company continues to figure out its position in the US market, they've continued to tweak the format. The latest updates are on display here in Brooklyn, where a new-build LIDL replaced a longtime Key Food on the same property. This store is smaller than some of LIDL's suburban locations but actually on the large side for urban Williamsburg, at around 27,000 square feet. We're across the neighborhood from a new Lincoln Market , but just a couple blocks over from a small-format Whole Foods . Also, a CTown, a Bravo, two Foodtowns, a Brooklyn Harvest Market, and a Sunac Natural Market are all within a few blocks, so there are lots of other supermarkets -- but no other discounters in the immediate area. Insid...