The Independent Edition: Wachusett

Bringing back the way I did the smaller stores in Worcester, it's time for a quick roundup of some of the independent grocers in the Wachusett region!

Sterling, MA

Appletown Market

Owner: Mohammad Chaudry

Opened: 1995

Location: 9 Main St, Sterling, MA

Photographed: November 15, 2020

This store is about 2500 square feet, and part liquor store, part convenience store, and part grocery store. Sterling doesn't have a full supermarket, so there's quite a bit of grocery stuff in this little store. And to be sure, Sterling is definitely an apple town. In the fall, you can stand in town and smell the apples in the air -- many being crushed into cider. A massive former mill in town, now called the Cider Mill Building, has been repurposed into a sprawling antique mall called Oh My Gosh. That building is located at the northern end of the Central Massachusetts Rail Trail.

Clinton, MA

Burditt Hill General Store

Owner: Deb Sargent & Jennifer Sousa

Opened: 2020-2023

Location: 363 Main St, Clinton, MA

Photographed: October 9, 2021

Just south of the main business district of Clinton, where we saw a Hannaford and a Shaw's, is this little general store which unfortunately was only open for three years, 2020 to 2023. The space has been a grocer for many years, and was previously the Burditt Hill Market.

Apple Country Markets

Owner: Rogers F. Bush

Opened: 1986

Location: 159 Mechanic St, Clinton, MA

Photographed: October 2, 2021

Another apple-themed store. This one is Apple Country Market, an oversized convenience store of about 8500 square feet. One side has a convenience store and the other side has a liquor store, and I wouldn't be surprised if originally this were more of a supermarket.

You can tell this is larger than your average convenience store, and like Appletown, there's more groceries than your average convenience store, too.

A&J Grocery & Restaurant

Owner: Richard Infante

Opened: 2010

Location: 242 High St, Clinton, MA

Photographed: October 2, 2021

There are lots of small stores and restaurants along High Street in downtown Clinton, and one of them is A&J Grocery & Restaurant, a bodega of around 3300 square feet.

Family Meat Market

Owner: Ronaldo & Vanessa DeSilva

Opened: ca. 2020

Location: 270 High St, Clinton, MA

Photographed: October 2, 2021

Family Meat Market has been here in Clinton for a long time, but around 2020 they moved to a new spot in the small strip mall they've been in. The store has Brazilian and Latin American foods and a large butcher shop at the back, along with very small selections of produce, dairy, and frozen, all packed into just under 5000 square feet. This is just a couple doors down from A&J.

It's a really nice little store, very clean and well-appointed despite its size.

And it previously was in an even tinier spot around the corner in the L-shaped strip mall. It was originally about 1500 square feet.

Brazilian Flavor

Owner: unknown

Opened: 2022

Location: 2 Water St, Clinton, MA

Photographed: April 7, 2023

Another small grocer, Brazilian Flavor, has groceries on one side and a bakery and cafe on the other. The store is about 4500 square feet and it was previously a pub. Even in that small space, there's even produce and a butcher.

Harvard, MA

Harvard General Store

Owner: Scott Hayward

Opened: 2012 under current ownership; 1850 previously

Location: 1 Still River Rd, Harvard, MA

Photographed: October 9, 2021

About five miles northeast of Bolton is Harvard, with this little general store and restaurant on the town green. The store dates back to 1850, but has only been open in its current form since 2012. Harvard is on the very edge of Worcester County, and borders Littleton which is in Middlesex County. We'll be seeing quite a bit of Middlesex, but first, we need to finish Worcester County. Tomorrow, we'll see what's coming up next with a preview of the Fitchburg and Leominster area!