TOUR: Gnazzo's Food Center - Plainville, CT

Gnazzo's Food Center

Owner: Kenny Gnazzo

Opened: 1934 previously; ca. late 1980s in present building

Cooperative: IGA
Location: 73 East St, Plainville, CT

Photographed: fall 2020

Contributor: Lars D.

Welcome to Gnazzo's Food Center! This Plainville institution has been in business since 1934, but relocated to its current building in the late 1980s. The building is around 18,000 square feet. I can't offer too much of a layout description because I've never actually been here and these pictures are coming to us courtesy of our contributor Lars D., but it looks like produce and dairy are on the right side of the store with meats on the back. It looks like deli and bakery are on the far left side in the last aisle, with frozen in the front left corner.

It looks to me like the store probably hasn't gotten a renovation since it opened in the late 80s. The deli and bakery area across the store might have gotten some work, and some of the fixtures may have been painted.

Lars, who visited this store and sent me these pictures, is a good friend of mine who lived in Hartford for a while. He tried out a few stores in the Hartford area, and we'll see his favorite once we get into Hartford.

Here's a good overview of the grocery aisles.

Gnazzo's is an IGA member and is supplied by Bozzuto's.

I love independent supermarkets, so I'll probably get to visit this store sooner or later. I'm just so rarely in this area.

Paper and cleaning on the left side of the store.

And in the last aisle is cold cuts and the service counters, which appear to take up the back half of the last aisle.

Frozen is in the front half, I think.

Here's an overview of the deli-bakery area.

And frozen foods in the front...

These fixtures to me look like they could definitely be from the late 80s, although they (like the whole store, it seems) are in excellent repair. The store looks older, but not outdated.

There's also a Big Y around a mile and a half to the northeast, just outside of town. A little farther, there are also supermarkets in New Britain. We're going to check one of them out tomorrow!