End is Nearing For Shaw's Supermarket in New Haven

For many people who live in the Dwight neighborhood of New Haven, the countdown to the closing of Shaw’s supermarket is winding down.

The Whalley Avenue location will close on Saturday -- and many shoppers say that'll leave lots of families in the lurch, having to scramble to find another affordable place to buy their food.

Kim Haynes says she's sad, "This is one of my favorite stores, I’ve been coming to Shaw’s even before they were Shaw’s. They used to be Edwards, then they went to Finast, then they went to Shaws, that’s how long I’ve been following it," Haynes said.

But when Haynes walked in today, she says she saw a skeleton of her favorite store. "Like a deserted island, they had maybe a few aisles with food, canned goods."

Shaw’s parent company, SuperValu, sold most of the state’s 18 Shaw’s but no one’s stepped up to buy the last two, including this one and a location in Manchester. 100 people are losing their jobs here, including Heather Whittingham’s fiance. "The company is offering everybody an opportunity to sign up with Shop Rite, and Stop and Shop."

Gary Beckford's father owns the laundromat in the same shopping center. "Now, I’m wondering what are they gonna put here next because otherwise this is just an empty parking lot."

So, how close is the nearest full-service supermarket? There's a few within 6 miles, the closest is a Shop Rite less than 3 miles away. There are a couple of little grocery stores but not full-service supermarkets in that area. Residents say this is a neighborhood where not everyone has cars, making it tough to get to some of the other full-service supermarkets. Haynes worries about price.

"I'm not gonna do a full blown shopping, because it’s gonna be too much these prices here...were good, they were affordable, and now they’re leaving."

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