Grocery Stores That Are All Over New England, Except Connecticut

Connecticut is the sandwich between the Tri-State area and New England, we're  considered both, but I feel left out by New England's grocers.

Sure, we have Stop & Shop, Big Y, and the very first Wegmans supermarket in Connecticut is slated to open in Norwalk this July. Connecticut has Stew Leonard's, Balducci's, and Key Foods, all Tri-State area grocers that refuse to cross into Massachusetts, but there are three big players in New England that we don't have here.

Hannaford's. They're in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, but there is not a single Hannaford market in Connecticut. The closest Hannaford to Connecticut is just over the CT/Ny border on Rt. 22 in Pawling.

Star Market/Shaw's operates 150+ locations in the greater Boston metro area, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. As far as I know a Star Market has never been in Connecticut, but you may remember Shaw's. Star and Shaw's are owned by the same parent company, Albertson's, which is one of the largest grocery store operators in the US. Albertson's are everywhere across the country, except New England.

The most glaring snub from a New England-based grocery store chain is Market Basket. They are the New England answer to Wegmans. I shop at the Market Basket in Rochester, New Hampshire every summer, and it's cheaper than Stop & Shop and Big Y.

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One Northern New England business that has faith in Connecticut is Aroma Joe's, which just opened their third location in Connecticut. Give them a shot around the greater Waterbury area.