Stop & Shop Closing 5 CT Stores Thursday

CONNECTICUT — The death knell began sounding for five doomed Connecticut Stop & Shop stores on Halloween morning and by 3 p.m., all were to be closed.

The closings will mark the end of a saga that began in July with the corporate announcement that the stores would go dark as part of a streamlining initiative.

The Connecticut locations closing are:

• 100 Division St., Ansonia
• 211 High St., Torrington
• 1937 West Main St., Stamford
• 855 Bridgeport Ave., Milford
• 72 Newtown Road, Danbury

In mid-July, the supermarket chain announced the next steps in its plans to "position the company for growth," which actually meant shuttering 32 "underperforming" stores this fall.

Many of the closings are taking place Thursday in towns with multiple stores, so some of the affected towns will still have stores. In Connecticut, the 931 Torringford St., store in Torrington will remain open, the 2200 Bedford St. store in Stamford will remain open, the 1360 East Town Road store in Milford will remain open and the 44 Lake Ave. Ext. store in Danbury will remain open.

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After the store closures are complete, Stop & Shop's more than 350 locations will include 81 stores in Connecticut, 115 in Massachusetts, 47 in New Jersey, 91 in New York and 25 in Rhode Island. Stores are closing all over the region.

Stop & Shop staff members have been offered "other opportunities" within the company, according to the announcement.

"Stop & Shop is proud of the deep roots and community ties we have developed as a neighborhood grocer of more than 100 years, and we remain committed to nourishing our associates, customers and communities," Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid said. "As we announced in May, Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand."

Reid also said, "Stop & Shop is focused on growing through large, multi-year price investments and a stronger customer value proposition, both in-store and online. This means we’ll be focused on delivering lower everyday prices, as well as even more savings for our customers through strong promotion. Since 2018, we have completed more than 190 store remodels, with the customer shopping experience in mind. These stores are outperforming other Stop & Shop stores that haven’t been remodeled. We're taking these learnings and implementing them at other stores as we build upon our strong foundation, similar to our new Boston flagship location, opened last month in the Allston Yards development. We look forward to continuing to serve and care for our communities and to grow Stop & Shop as a local brand for many years to come."