North Shore customers worry about Stop & Shop potential closures
Stop & Shop officials announced that they would be evaluating supermarkets across the Northeast, planning on closing underperforming locations. While the supermarket chain has not made any definitive announcements about which stores will close and when, the impact of multiple closures could negatively impact customers across Long Island, particularly on the North Shore.
With roughly 100 locations across New York state, and nearly half of them on Long Island alone, Stop & Shop is nearly ubiquitous with supermarkets in the area. Their North Shore locations in Glen Cove and Oyster Bay serve as the main grocery markets for residents there and in the surrounding communities, with a collected population of over 60,000.
Stop & Shop representatives have not confirmed which stores will close, or when customers will know, but according to the company’s initial statement the last underperforming stores will close by 2028.
Jennifer Barr, director of external communications and community relations for the company, wrote in a follow up statement that although Stop & Shop is in a strong position currently, the purpose of this decision is to ensure that the company does not overextend and can continue to provide the highest quality goods and services for its customers.
“We’ve completed more than 190 remodels to date, which continue to perform well, and we’re committed to continuing to invest in our stores — as well in our prices —to deliver a great in-store experience and great values for our customers,” Barr wrote. “Stop & Shop will make some difficult decisions to close select underperforming store locations to help ensure the long-term health and future growth for our business.”
Customers from across the North Shore are grappling with the potential loss of their local Stop & Shops, and what it will mean for them. Several Oyster Bay residents said they were unconcerned, pointing out that they would just go to the one in Glen Cove, yet were nonplussed when asked what they would do if that one closed as well.
Peter Parenti, a Bayville resident, said that while the closure of the Oyster Bay location would certainly give him a longer drive to get groceries, he was not overly concerned. Parenti added that since the Oyster Bay location had been renovated as recently as last year, he was hopeful that it was a sign that the company was interested in maintaining the supermarket there.
Even if it does close, Parenti said that he is confident that a new place would fill in the void.
“If it closes it closes. They closed the drug store, the Rite-Aid right there, and now we just go to the CVS,” Parenti said. “We’re fortunate in that there’s alternatives.”
Not all customers on the North Shore are as casual about the potential closures, however. Carol Hornowski, a Glen Cove resident, said that she started to go to Stop & Shop after the local King Kullen closed. If the Glen Cove Stop & Shop closes, she said she does not know what she will do.
“I don’t know where I’d go, because this is the only shopping supermarket here in Glen Cove, except for North Shore Farms,” Hornowski said. “And up there, forget about the prices, you know.”
Tatiana Bianchino, a Sea Cliff resident who goes to the Glen Cove location, said she has been coming to Stop & Shop for years. While she says she also goes to North Shore Farms for some groceries, like meats and vegetables, Stop & Shop closing would be a huge problem for her and others in the community.
“If they ever close this store, it’s going to be ridiculous,” Bianchino said. “I don’t know where I’m going to go, because I’m going to have to drive very far.”
While Bianchino said that she does sometimes go to alternative supermarkets like Trader Joe’s and North Shore Farms, most places like these are too expensive to shop at regularly, and do not offer as wide a range of products. She said that she would have to go to the Greenvale Stop & Shop, but if that one closes, she will have to travel as far as New Hyde Park to get groceries.
