Price Chopper
Opened: 2003
Welcome back to the Main & Cambridge Price Chopper, a 70,000 square foot store built in 2003 replacing an acquired Big D under a mile north. Like Gala Foods and Shaw's, I shopped here regularly when I lived in Worcester, and you can see all of my previous pictures here. Earlier this month, Price Chopper announced the store would be closed by January 31. This comes as a Stop & Shop on the north end of the city closed last fall.
I'd long suspected that this store wasn't going to be around much longer, and it's obvious investment in the store stopped several years ago. But there are a few things that make this closure particularly interesting. For one, the property is actually owned by the New York City-based Red Apple Group, the same company that owns Gristedes and D'Agostino supermarkets in the city. And Price Chopper is closing before the end of its lease term, and they're looking for another tenant to sublet the space. That info and more comes from a recent article from the Telegram & Gazette (or see here).
The space has started to clear out, especially in some (but not all) of the perimeter departments, but there's no store closing liquidation sale going on yet. Or at least there wasn't when I visited about a week ago.
You can really feel how large the store is once all the promotional displays and everything else is removed. I would love to see interior pictures from when the store opened, since I know certain things were cut back (and even the difference between 2020 and 2021 was quite significant).
The cheese department is done, with only some cheeses in the back.
But the seafood department was still fully stocked.
Nothing in the seasonal department, because this store won't even make it to Valentine's Day.
In the grocery aisles, you can see the stock has started to thin out, too.
I think Price Chopper miscalculated here. What I wrote over on RetailWatchers: "My best guess is that they took a big risk on a big store that was a new-build, moving from a smaller and older one in a suburban residential area to a larger new one in a more urban commercial and light industrial area, hoping they'd attract big business and it just didn't pan out. They never quite figured out how to merchandise to the many ethnic groups in the area -- the only thing they really had was some Latin packaged foods, but the bustling Gala Foods downtown is the clear favorite for Latin foods followed by Plaza in Main South. There are significant Vietnamese, Albanian, and African communities (specifically from Ghana, Senegal, and a few other countries) in the area that Price Chopper didn't even attempt to appeal to. And just 2/3 of a mile north, where the old store was, is a very different neighborhood that's suburban and generally fairly white, ethnically. That community, by and large, seems to have switched to Shaw's when PC moved out, rather than following PC. I don't think PC quite knew what they were getting themselves into when they made the move that probably looked really good on paper but didn't end up working out for them long-term."
And I doubt another supermarket would move into the space as-is. It's so large that it would have to be an operator comfortable with such a big space, and that leaves a very short list. Barring a weird surprise like ShopRite entering Worcester for the first time, I suspect the place will be subdivided and, if a grocery store remains, it'll be a store like a Key Food or America's Food Basket -- one that's comfortable with international foods -- or a discount store, like an ALDI. But like the Stop & Shop at Lincoln Plaza, this might be a difficult one to fill.
Service meat counter is closed, and the meat department was thinning out too.
I'm assuming there won't be any dramatic surprises like ShopRite, or some other operator who doesn't have stores in this region, entering Worcester. Shaw's, Big Y, and Price Rite are already in the region, but they have stores too close to warrant another one. Market Basket is always expanding, but they like to build their own new stores on properties they own, so this isn't ideal (although they're not afraid of a store this size). Stop & Shop probably wouldn't be interested, and I doubt Gala Foods would want a second location in Worcester (they'd have to subdivide it for sure, since they don't run stores bigger than around 35,000 square feet). ALDI is a real possibility for a smaller space, as is a store that could offer a significant international selection like Key Food or America's Food Basket, which already has a tiny store in Worcester.
There's also a Walmart Supercenter in Quinsigamond Village, about two miles east.
I will miss the very retro decor here, but it's clear the store didn't get the updates it needed over time.
I'm glad I got to photograph the store extensively over the years, though. And even though I don't live in Worcester anymore, I'll do my best to get back and see what happens to the space!
The liquor store has already closed and clearance items are on shelves in front of it. The pharmacy closes on January 30.
Owner: Northeast Grocery
Previous Tenants: none
Cooperative: none
Location: 50 Cambridge St, Worcester, MA
Photographed: January 13, 2025
But you can tell the store hasn't been taken care of for some time. The entrance door was covered with a board, not related to the closure but just because it was never fixed. (This is the same door that was out of service for months and blocked with a shopping cart.)
It's a shame to see any supermarket close, but I can't say I wasn't expecting this. Still, it'll be interesting to see what comes next for 50 Cambridge Street. In the meantime, here's a roundup of a lot more news from the last few weeks!
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