This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Andover Residents Show Excitement with New Supermarket

Many came to celebrate the Grand Opening of the new Stop & Shop in Shawsheen Plaza, including New England Patriots place kicker Stephen Gostkowski and a capella group "Ball in the House."

To celebrate the introduction of its newest store on North Main St., Stop & Shop opened its doors a night early for Grand Opening festivities and fanfare to local officials, partners, vendors, and top customers on Thursday.

New England Patriots placekicker Stephen Gostkowski was there to cut the ribbon, sign autographs, and pose for photos with fans. A capella group “Ball in the House,” a former contestant of the hit T.V. show “America’s Got Talent,”performed for the Andover crowd, singing hits such as “Oh, What a Night” and “Billie Jean.”

The store’s official opening on Friday marks an important day for the town of Andover, particularly for the grocery shoppers of the area. After 44 years in business in the Shawsheen Plaza, Market Basket closed in June 2010. Shortly after, a group headed by new store manager Jim Allen pushed to open a Stop & Shop in the building.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“We’re excited to have another store in the Merrimack Valley,” said Suzi Robinson, Stop & Shop Manager of Community and Public Relations, New England Division. “We’ve got great community relationships already so I think people are going to be really excited to see us here.”

The modernized store will employ 150 associates and boast full-service departments including meat, seafood, deli, bakery and floral. In addition, the store includes prepared foods, cheese departments and a wide selection of natural and organics. The new store also offers a variety of high -tech shopping solutions and energy-efficient features.   

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“For nearly 100 years, customers have relied on Stop & Shop to have quality products at a good value,” said Mark McGowan, president, Stop & Shop New England Division. “In preparation for the opening, we worked to bring our signature value and community spirit to Andover. We believe the community will enjoy this fresh shopping experience as well as the quality, selection and customer service they have come to expect from Stop & Shop.”

Beyond reducing its carbon footprints and hiring locally, Stop & Shop is investing back into the community through robust partnerships. The company will support ongoing initiatives in Andover and throughout New England to fight hunger, combat childhood cancer, and fund health and wellness programs that support and promote nutrition education and physical activity among youth.

The supermarket company will also sponsor Andover Day in September, introduce its A+ School Rewards program to support Andover Public Schools and explore supporting other organizations in the Merrimack Valley.

The Andover store opens its doors to the public on Friday at 6 a.m. Its hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?