Shaw’s closings to leave poor with fewer options

In less than two weeks, 224 people will lose their jobs and two working-class neighborhoods will be left without any major grocery store after their Shaw’s Supermarkets are shuttered.
“Certainly we like to think of ourselves as good community partners. We understand the impact this has, and we made this difficult decision only after a careful and through review,” said Judy Chong, a spokeswoman for Shaw’s.
When asked if the stores were actually losing money or simply not making the amount of profit the company wanted, Chong replied, “they are not meeting our goals.”
The stores closing are in the Woodlawn Shaw’s Plaza in Pawtucket, off North Main Street at the Providence line, and in Eagle Square, the 13-acre, mixed-use development between Atwells Avenue, and Eagle and Valley streets in Providence.
Both of the stores are the anchors for their shopping plazas and serve many residents that lack transportation to supermarkets outside the neighborhood.
The Pawtucket Shaw’s, which opened in 1989, serves the communities of Woodlawn and Oak Hill. In 2000 the median household income for the surrounding square mile was $27,545.
Similarly, Providence’s Valley neighborhood, adjacent to Mount Pleasant, Olneyville and Federal Hill, had a mean household income of $34,994 in 2005.
That store opened in 2003, when it was hailed as a positive addition to the neighborhood, despite cries from artists and historians to save the mills that were torn down for its construction.
Because of the importance of the stores to the neighborhoods, representatives from both cities say they regret the decision by Shaw’s.
“It’s very important to have large grocery stores in residential neighborhoods, and that was a great spot for that kind of grocery store,” said Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline. “One of the consequences of not having large supermarkets in residential neighborhoods is that people who don’t have transportation are forced to go to neighborhood markets that have much more expensive goods and a much more limited inventory.”
Herb Weiss, the economic and cultural affairs officer for Pawtucket, said leaders in that city are “very concerned,” because “Pawtucket and Providence residents surrounding that shopping plaza are going to be hurt.”
However, Shaw’s may not be able to leave so easily. It is unclear whether the Pawtucket store is bound by a lease, but in building the Eagle Square store, the company agreed to a 25-year lease.
“We’re actively looking for replacement tenants, and we don’t have any other details,” said Chong. “I don’t know what the lease situation is in Pawtucket, but we are looking for replacement tenants at both locations.”
Cicilline said he is hopeful that the new tenant in Eagle Square will be another supermarket.
“We obviously want to work with any tenants and be helpful in any way we can,” he said, “but we have a strong preference for a grocery store. But, obviously it will be driven by the market.”
He said there has been some talk that a smaller supermarket might do better than the 64,000-square-foot Shaw’s did.
Gene Beaudoin, co-developer of the plaza, said that he is also hoping for a supermarket.
“We know they are in conversations with a couple of other supermarket chains to have them come in,” he said. “We’re always disappointed to see any tenant close, but we’re happy they’re pursuing replacement supermarkets. I think it was important for the neighborhood to have this supermarket there.” •