The Price Chopper supermarket on Monday afternoon announced plans to close its Vernon location in three weeks, but the brick-and-mortar store won’t be vacant for long.
Just hours after Price Chopper said it would close its store at 35 Talcottville Road on May 28, the operators of the ShopRite supermarket chain announced it will open a location at the space in the Tri-City Plaza Shopping Center later this year. The store spans over 106,725 square feet, according to the town’s assessor’s office.
A spokeswoman for Price Chopper, which is owned and operated by New York-based the Golub Corp., said 97 of the 111 employees in Vernon were offered positions at sister stores in the area. Golub Corp. has seven Price Chopper locations and two Market 32 grocery stores in Connecticut.
The incoming ShopRite supermarket may also hire existing Price Chopper workers in Vernon, she said.
“It’s never easy to close a store, but imperative to make business decisions that support the company’s continued health and growth,” said Mona Golub, vice president of public relations and consumer services.
Price Chopper, which owns 132 Price Chopper and Market 32 grocery stores in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, will continue to operate its pharmacy in Vernon until June 8 while ShopRite begins renovations at the site, officials said. ShopRite said it will maintain the current pharmacist team beyond that date.
Waverly Markets, which owns and operates ShopRite sites in Manchester and East Hartford, did not say when it will officially open its new Vernon location. The ShopRite chain is a cooperative of supermarkets under its New Jersey-based corporate and distribution arm, Wakefern Food Corp.
The Tri-City plaza, operated by DLC Management Corp., also houses T.J. Maxx, Hartford Freight Tools and a Hartford HealthCare HealthCenter.
This story has been updated
