Balducci's Food Lover's Market
Opened: unknown
Location: 1385 Post Rd E, Westport, CT
Photographed: May 2019
I must confess, before we tour this 12,000 square foot gourmet market in the very affluent suburb of Westport, that I do not remember the layout here at all. You see, this was one of about 26 stores I visited this day, but most importantly when I arrived here, I had one thing on my mind. I made a beeline for the restroom. Having taken care of what I needed to, I then completed my store tour. I remember nothing other than the bathroom. (A side note, these pictures were taken prior to the ACME acquisition of Kings and Balducci's.)
For some context, we've been to a Balducci's before and we've also been to Westport before. This store is set up with the front perpendicular to the street, which is just to the right above. Like Scarsdale, you enter to a large grand aisle that takes up about half of the store, here the right half. Produce, deli, and coffee shop/cafe are in the grand aisle, with grocery, bakery, dairy/frozen, and meat/seafood in the left half. In this store, the checkouts line the front wall.
And like Scarsdale, the store is beautiful. It does seem that Westport's decor is slightly less deluxe than Scarsdale, but it might just be the lower ceiling. Produce lines the right side of the grand aisle, with cheese on the left side. Deli is at the back, with the cafe extending beyond it in the back right corner in what amounts to a hallway probably in former backroom space or a separate storefront.
Looking towards the front wall. There's a very attractive floral department on the side wall, which faces the street.
Absolutely gorgeous deli, although I do find it odd that packaged baked goods are here given the bakery is on the opposite side of the store. The coffee shop area is behind the deli where the windows are.
Salad and soup bar in the in-between hallway space. I don't believe there's a hot food bar in this store.
Coffee shop at the back. More importantly, the restroom is behind the coffee shop. On the other side of the deli, extending behind it like this coffee shop, is the dairy department.
Okay, I think this is the best stocked dairy department I've ever seen in my life. Not a single milk carton is out of place.
Bakery is next along the perimeter.
The grocery department is a little more aisle-like than it is in Scarsdale. This store is slightly larger than Scarsdale but it actually feels much larger for some reason. Perhaps because it's set up a little more like a regular supermarket.
Frozen and a very small meat department in the last aisle. Service butcher and seafood on the front wall.
Unfortunately this is the best picture I could get as the clerk was giving me the glare. You know the one. It's a really nice department but quite small and really tucked away in the corner here -- you could easily miss it while shopping the store if you weren't looking for it.
Only three registers on the front end. Here we're looking across towards produce in the grand aisle. That's all for this store, our next stop will be to the west in Norwalk!
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