PROVIDENCE – A Stop & Shop supermarket in Johnston and the Eastside Marketplace at 176 Pitman St. in Providence will close by the end of the year, the stores' parent company Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. announced Friday.
The two Rhode Island locations are part of 32 underperforming stores the company is closing in the Northeast. Stop & Shop will still have 350 locations across five states, including 25 in Rhode Island, according to the release.
Ahold Delhaize said it will also close 10 stores in New Jersey, eight stores in Massachusetts, seven stores in New York, five stores in Connecticut.
“Stop & Shop is proud of the deep roots and community ties we have developed as a neighborhood grocer of more than 100 years, and we remain committed to nourishing our associates, customers and communities,” said Gordon Reid, president of Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. “As we announced in May, Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand.”
The 32 stores are expected to close on or before Nov. 2. Stop & Shop said it will communicate specific store closing dates to local customers well in advance.
The company said employees at affected stores would be offered other jobs within the company. Stop & Shop didn't immediately respond to The Associated Press when asked how many people are employed at the 32 stores.
“Since 2018, we have completed more than 190 store remodels, with the customer shopping experience in mind,” Reed said. “We look forward to continuing to serve and care for our communities and to grow Stop & Shop as a local brand for many years to come.”
The Eastside Marketplace was first opened in 1981 as an independent grocery store by Scott Laurans after the supermarket chain First National vacated the location near Wayland Square. Laurans said he wanted to create an upscale grocery store that “I would want to shop in.”
The store was acquired by Stop & Shop in 2014 but kept its Eastside Marketplace identity. Eastside Marketplace faced competition from two Whole Foods Markets on the East Side of Providence, one just a block away on Waterman Street and the other on North Main Street.
The announcement that the Stop & Shop on Atwood Avenue in Johnston would be closing comes nearly two years after the Market Basket chain opened its first Rhode Island location a short distance away on Hartford Avenue in Johnston.
The full list of store closings can be found
here.
Material From The Associated Press was used in this report.
