Customers flock to new supermarket

Even as Stop & Shop employees, community leaders from the Chamber of Commerce and the fire department, a Town of Hempstead official and local reporters gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:45 a.m. last Friday, and snowflakes fell fast and thick, customers hurried past to see all that the new Merrick Mall supermarket offers and start filling their shopping carts.

“It’s amazing — I almost cried,” said Heidi Hecker, who lives close by in Merrick. “The selection is amazing … It’s been inconvenient while [Stop & Shop] was closed. We’ve been counting down the days.”

Inside the store, customers found an expansive produce section; rows of fully stocked, neatly arranged shelves, including a new organic foods section; a meat and seafood counter; a deli; “grab-and-go” meals; aisles of refrigerated and frozen food behind gleaming glass; new offerings like sushi, fried chicken and kosher food; racks filled with a broad array of newspapers, magazines and convenience items; and a small platoon of purple-uniformed Stop & Shop staff at the ready. The store’s footprint had expanded from 16,000 to 24,000 square feet, according to a Stop & Shop spokeswoman.

“I’m happy it’s open,” said Janette Tursi, another Merokean who lives close. “It seems very nice so far.”

The Merrick Stop & Shop’s grand re-opening began a new chapter in the store’s history and ended another: a decade-long tug-of-war between the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, a Northeast supermarket chain, and the store’s residential neighbors, many of whom are members of Merrick Park Homeowners Association.