CONNECTICUT — The Big Y grocery stores chain is continuing its expansion into Connecticut.
The Springfield, MA, based retailer has announced its plans to open outlets in Westport at 1076 Post Road East, and in Brookfield at 14 Candlewood Lake Road.
Both sites had been teased extensively as new locations for Amazon Fresh, only for the retail leviathan to pull the plug abruptly on Tuesday.
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Greg Dembowski, Brookfield’s economic development specialist, told Patch the town was notified of the change in a phone call from Amazon “just an hour or two” before Big Y issued its press release signaling its move.
“The word they used was ‘pivoting,'” Dembowski said.
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In that release, Michael D’Amour, president and CEO of Big Y said the two new Connecticut sites “fit nicely” within the chain’s current store footprint. A third store is also opening in Westborough, MA, as part of the planned expansion.
“All of us at Big Y are excited about the opportunity to enter into these communities with our unique fresh and local foods along with our exceptional and knowledgeable employees,” D’Amour said.
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In its statement, the company projected that the process to remodel those three retail spaces could start as early as within the next four to six months.
Dembowski said Big Y executives would be meeting with him and Brookfield First Selectman Steve Dunn on Thursday to discuss the details of their plan, as well as their schedule for opening.
In its announcement Tuesday, the grocery execs said they also had plans to acquire a gas and convenience store at 342 Washington Avenue in North Haven, across the street from the Big Y supermarket there. That will be the 18th Big Y Express for the chain.
The grocers are also in the process of stocking shelves for a new supermarket in Middletown. Another store planned in Uxbridge, MA, will bring Big Y’s store count across Connecticut and Massachusetts to 77. Counting its Table & Vine Fine Wines and Liquors stores and Big Y Express outlets, the company employs more than 10,000 employees, according to industry trade Progressive Grocer.
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