Now it's time to check out the independent stores in downtown Worcester! (Admittedly, several of the first stores here might be more accurately classified as northern Main South, but in my completely unscientific division of the city, Main South ends at May Street and anything on Main north of May is downtown.)
A note on historical sources: To get "past stores" in each location, I've consulted Worcester city directories going back to the 1910s. Here in the city, I'm drawing from 1916, 1922, 1927, 1931, 1937, 1943, 1959, 1952, 1957, 1962, 1969, 1973, 1979, 1985, 1991, 2000, 2009, and 2017. Also of note: this is far from an exhaustive listing of all grocery stores that have been in this area, although I'll probably eventually post the full thing, this is just what I've been able to photograph.
Reading the captions: A caption such as the following...
| John Smith (1926-1937) > Joe Jones (1955-1982)
...means that John Smith appears in the directories in 1926 and 1937, and Joe Jones appears in all directories I consulted between 1955 and 1982. That doesn't mean that John Smith opened up shop in 1926 and closed in 1937, he might have started in 1920 and closed in 1941 but since I don't have those records, I don't know for sure. Any questions (or corrections), feel free to drop a note in the comments and I'll look into it!
Downtown
Cibao Market
Owner: Ocdabio Rodriguez
Opened: 2010 under current ownership
Location: 805 Main St, Downtown, Worcester, MA
Photographed: April 1, 2022
Past Stores:
Ulderic Vigeant (1927) > Arezibos Market (1985) > Rodriguez Market (2000) > Cebao Market 2009-2017)
I assume Cebao is just a typo for Cibao, the store's current name. Cibao is a region in the Dominican Republic.
Main Superette
Owner: unknown
Opened: ca. 2000
Location: 781 Main St, Downtown, Worcester, MA
Photographed: August 26, 2018; November 1, 2019; November 8, 2020; and September 24, 2022
Past Stores:
Worcester Superette (1985-1991)
Hermano Lejano
Owner: unknown
Opened: 2019
Location: 721 Main St, Downtown, Worcester, MA
Photographed: August 18, 2021
Hermano Lejano is in the same block as Mekong and is a Salvadorean grocery store with a hot food counter and a small deli. There's a few aisles of groceries and some prepared foods, like fresh tortillas and pupusas. We last saw it in 2019 right before it opened. This store and Wonder Dollar next door were previously a car dealership, I believe.
Past Stores: There were no grocery stores here before Hermano Lejano.
Brazil Beef
Owner: Patrick De Almeida Souza
Open: 2020-2023
Location: 675 Main St, Downtown, Worcester, MA
Photographed: August 18, 2021
Gala Foods is directly across the street. In 2023, Brazil Beef looks to have closed and been replaced by Imperio Brazil Meat Market. Before the butcher shops, this space was a very, very strange thrift store I went into one time.
Past Stores: There were no grocery stores here before Brazil Beef.
Sandra's Grocery Store
Owner: A. Martia
Opened: 2002
Location: 652 Main St, Downtown, Worcester, MA
Photographed: May 23, 2021
I love this tiny hole-in-the-wall grocery store! I've actually never been inside, but maybe next time I'm back in Worcester I'll have to check it out.
Past Stores: Evelias Grocery Store (1991)
Big Boi Meat Market
Owner: Andrea Marques
Opened: 2017
Location: 43 Chandler St, Downtown, Worcester, MA
Photographed: April 17, 2021
Past Stores: Louis Fenneuff (1916-1943) previously on this property; this building was built in 1950
Comments
Post a Comment