By Josh Resnek
Call it the end of a supermarket era in the city of Everett. Call it what you will.
The closing down of the Stop and Shop on the Revere Beach Parkway on the cusp of a titanic size wave of new residential units going up, leaves the city without a major super market.
At the same time the numbers of new residents living here is rising rapidly, the city’s only supermarket is closing down.
This is a final, fitful gasp for major supermarkets in the city.
While thousands of new units of real estate have come on line in the past decade and thousands more are coming to completion or are in the line for development, the city has lost its only major supermarket – with no new supermarkets in sight.
Everett Stop & Shop was put on death watch months back.
Now its time has come.
After about 30 years, the parking lot is going empty. The shelves are empty inside the sprawling super market.
There’s no need to reorder products.
Outside the signage is taken down.
In another week, the front doors will be locked and the place will be empty – a victim of residential housing development.
Photo by Joe Resnek
The city has shown a great deal of interest and ability in attracting developers to build housing here. However, there has been no such interest in expanding the city’s shopping base for thousands of new residents now living here for thousands more to come.
There are no current plans for a Whole Foods, or for a Star Market and not even Stop and Shop has shown any interest in opening at another location.
Even a smaller row of retail stores and a supermarket would create the type of environment designed to keep new residents here might do the trick.
But no, there’s no such retail strip in the planning stages, just more apartments.
McKinnon’s on Broadway is now the city’s major remaining supermarket – and while it’s a great place to shop, it is hardly a full-service supermarket that can cater to thousands of shoppers making food runs everyday.
With about 150 employees and loyal shopper following, the loss of this Stop & Shop has been a long time coming.
Shortly, the building will be demolished and the site prepared…for another high density apartment development.
What are shoppers to do?
They will be heading over to Market Basket in neighboring Chelsea.
One day, maybe, just maybe, developers will figure out that it is to everyone’s advantage to build retail space that works into the mix with apartment housing going up here.