Vicente's Supermarket
Opened: 2014
Vicente's Supermarket started as a small international grocer here in downtown Brockton, later acquiring a supermarket on the south side of town. Then in 2014, Vicente's opened their second location -- at over 35,000 square feet, it was almost double the size of the Main Street store. Vicente's pulled out all the stops for this store, using various loans and incentive programs designed to bring supermarkets into lower-income areas that needed them. The 2014 opening was high-profile and hailed as a fundamental change to this neighborhood. This is the only supermarket in downtown Brockton. There are others just outside downtown, but as is the case with many cities, a lot of the population doesn't drive.
The new Vicente's and neighboring health center replaced a long-vacant strip mall that appears to have been anchored by a Shaw's supermarket originally, possibly one that closed when the new Belmont Street store opened. (That store is about a mile and a half southwest.) It'll be hard to believe when you see the inside, but this store actually occupies the old Shaw's building, not a newly-built building.
You enter in the front-left corner to the produce department, with meats on the back wall. Service butcher and seafood counters are in the back-right corner, with dairy and frozen on the right side of the store. Bakery, deli, and prepared foods (along with an in-store seating area) are in the front-right corner of the store.
As you can see, this is an extremely attractive and well-designed supermarket. It's a big difference from the Main Street Vicente's, which although it is well-stocked, clean, and well-run, is not the most beautiful. Unfortunately, this decor package was only ever used in this store, but the newer decor is quite nice too. In addition to that Pawtucket store, Vicente's has a new location in New Bedford, MA, and is working on another in Boston. Update: turns out they also have one in progress in Fall River near New Bedford!
A wall of values lines the left side of the store behind the produce department, primarily for bulk packs of rice and other staples.
And the meat department is on the back wall. I love the bright colors and they're accentuated by excellent lighting.
Service meat and seafood are to the right of the packaged meat department.
This is an absolutely top-notch supermarket. I think it's my favorite one that I visited here in Brockton.
The grocery aisles are straightforward, and combine a regular selection of groceries with international products from Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean. Vicente's uses Best Yet storebrand items.
There's also a wine and beer department on the right side of the store, seen here looking up towards the front of the store.
There aren't many signs that this isn't a new building, but instead a reuse of the Shaw's building, but you can see the evidence of past floor tiles on the concrete floor in some places. Despite that, the flooring generally looks really good.
Dairy begins in the back-right corner and continues down the last aisle.
And in the front corner, we enter the bakery-deli area, with service counters for each along with a large prepared foods department.
As you can see, the prepared foods here are a big draw.
And a look at the front-end...
...and beyond the front-end, in what appears to have been Shaw's foyer and cart storage area, is now a seating area.
Opened: 2014
Owner: Manuel Vicente Barbosa
Previous Tenants: A&P > Star Market > Shaw's
Cooperative: none
Location: 160 Pleasant St, Brockton, MA
Photographed: July 6, 2019
This is a great store and I'm glad to see more Vicente's locations in the area. There aren't any other supermarkets downtown, but for the next two days we'll be seeing two small grocers nearby!
I find all the department signage, and especially the meat department, quite attractive.
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