Options grow as supermarkets roll into town

By Lee Nagao

Upon their arrival in New Haven, most Yalies soon realize what locals have known for years--the city lacks a variety of downtown supermarkets. This may soon change with the proposed construction of a Shaw's Supermarket on Whalley Avenue. The new store will be built where McDermott Chevrolet and the Comcast Cable Company are currently located.

David McDermott, who has run his dealership on Whalley since 1980, sold his property to the developers in charge of building the new store.

According to McDermott, the slotted addition is certainly not the first major change on the street. "Twenty years ago this was known as `Auto Row,' but the complexion of Whalley has been gradually changing to a more diverse group of businesses," he said.

McDermott, who will be relocating, believes the change will be advantageous for him as well as the city. He will gain new, more efficient buildings and a better location near the city center. The city gains a new business that, according to McDermott, could employ three times as many people as his dealership, thus providing an economic boon to the downtown area.

The creation of a supermarket straddling the Dwight and Dixwell neighborhoods will provide an especially attractive alternative for inner city residents, who often lack easy access to the fresh produce, nutritional variety, and competitive prices offered by large suburban food marts.

"Lots of people don't have cars, so it would be easier for them to shop [at a nearby location] that they can walk to," area resident Peggy Reed said. She recalled her own mother who, in her eighties, "used to walk to the Stop & Shop in Hamden--about 16 blocks." The Hamden Stop & Shop and York Street's GranCentral are currently the closest supermarkets in the area.

Reed, who works at Krauszer's on York Street, foresees frequently cash-strapped students benefitting as well. "Some students are on scholarships and can't keep buying things here. It starts getting too expensive after a while, and sometimes students need things that we just don't carry," she said.

"From an off-campus student's perspective, it's an excellent idea," said Nir Goldman, BK '97, who lives in the Lake Place area.

Although Goldman "feels uncomfortable when large corporations take over small businesses," he said that a supermarket "would be good competition for places like Store 24 and GranCentral."

Local businesses do not appear too threatened by the increased competition Shaw's arrival promises to bring to the area. Both Reed and David Brause, owner of the Quality Wine Shop on Broadway, stressed that the employment opportunities brought by the supermarket will far outweigh negative effects on their businesses due to increased competition. "Anything that's a draw for the area will be good for us," Brause said. Back to News...