Shaw's
Opened: 2003 or 2004
Welcome back to the Burlington Shaw's! We recently saw this store with pictures from last May, and now we're back with some recent pictures (last weekend) when I got to return. In between my visits, Shaw's completed a full renovation of the store, and while it was mostly cosmetic, there were some bigger changes as we'll see. I mentioned that the store wasn't in great shape when I last visited, but it's looking much nicer today. Shaw's has been very aggressive with remodeling in the last several months, holding a grand reopening practically every week or two weeks. Still, this comes as they prepare to close two stores: one in Gloucester, on the north shore, and one in Concord, NH. Unfortunately, I haven't been to either one.
The store is large, around 66,000 square feet, but it no longer feels too big. Shaw's has more effectively allocated the space than they previously had.
And we start off strong with an all-new produce department. All of the cases here have been replaced, and they're looking really good. Both the islands and the perimeter refrigerators are new, as is the flooring.
With the renovation, it seems like they've removed a few of the things that hadn't been used, and they also just slightly shrank the sales floor. We'll see that shortly. It's completely not noticeable in person, though, and you can only tell when you look at the before and after pictures. The effect is just that the store feels much more full.
The produce department is expansive, and new refrigerators of packaged prepared foods and beverages line the left side.
Floral is next to the entrance on the front wall...
Here you can see the new Ready Meals cases on the left, with beverages in the cases behind them.
The former cheese and seafood departments in the back-right corner have been walled off, with cold cuts now in that area and the service seafood counter moving into part of the meat department. Cheeses have been moved up to the front of the deli department, and this store had a notably expanded selection compared to other Shaw's. The mix more closely resembled the higher-end selection at Star Market stores.
Another example of the store's higher-end positioning is this display in front of the deli department, with some chunk cheeses and accompaniments, including jams and dried fruits.
The new cheese department replaces what had been closed prepared foods counters. The deli is in the same place it had been, and you can see the former cheese corner in the back just behind the deli counter.
Looking good with all-new fixtures, though. Cold cuts were previously facing these departments along the first aisle, and have been moved to the back wall where the seafood counter used to be.
Again, even though the result doesn't look like a revolutionary new store, it's a significant change because the store no longer feels too big.
Frozen meats on this side of the service counter, with packaged fresh meats on the other side. What had previously been the meat window is now a combined butcher and seafood counter.
The grocery aisles look very similar, but once again the store no longer feels too big as the first few aisles, which had been sale items, have been reset to be normal grocery selections.
This seafood and meat case appears to be brand-new because, although it looks similar to the old one, it actually seems to be a bit wider. I like the hanging department signs here.
A well-stocked and very sleek meat department is up next, with HABA in the aisles opposite.
Notice anything unusual here? We'll come back to it in a minute...
The freezers weren't replaced, but they look very new anyway. And the flooring appears to have been refinished in the rest of the store, but not replaced.
New dairy signage in the back-left corner.
And old refrigerators here in the last aisle, but with relatively new doors on them. New flooring, though.
Here's a look at the front left corner of the aisles. 22 aisles in total.
And pharmacy and bakery are in the front-left corner. The change I was alluding to earlier... Osco branding has been removed from this, which is now simply "pharmacy" in a font I don't believe we've seen with this decor package yet. (The change has also been made on the outside.) I don't know if other Shaw's have lost their Osco branding -- stores with pharmacies were typically branded Shaw's Osco.
Looking good with new flooring and some new fixtures in this corner.
It looks like they built out some new walls here, too, compared to before.
And a look across the front-end. No new checkout lane markers, one of the only things remaining. But overall, this is a big upgrade for this store and I'm really glad to see continued investment across Shaw's.
Owner: Albertsons Companies
Previous Tenants: none; other stores previously on property
Cooperative: none
Location: 180 Cambridge St, Burlington, MA
Photographed: March 8, 2025
And that's all for this store, but here's a look at this weekend's other posts!
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