The new Stop and Shop on Whalley Avenue in New Haven is coming together. The finishing touches are being put on construction, the shelves are being stocked and the employees are being trained. It's a huge transformation from the Shaw's Supermarket that shut down at the same location last year.
"When it closed, everybody was depressed. … The workers found out about a month before the place was going to close that it was closing," Anne Demchak, the store manager, said.
Shaw's employees like Darious Goodman found themselves without jobs and trying to take anything that would bring home a paycheck, even if it meant traveling miles from their New Haven homes. When they heard that the new Stop and Shop had 160 jobs to fill, many jumped at the chance.
"As soon as I heard about it, I just hopped on the computer instantly, filled that application out. They called me a couple days later, I guess because I was a recent Shaw's employee," said Goodman.
Stop and Shop hired about 30 of the people who lost their jobs and filled out the rest with special needs employees and people from the neighborhood. Katrina Martinez said it helps being so close to home.
"It helps a lot because I'll always be able to make it here on time, and just the fact that it's so close, it's better for me," Martinez said.
"Everyone that's working here comes from New Haven, so it's a neighborhood store with neighborhood people and hopefully the neighborhood will shop here," said Demchak.
Local
The store opens on April 15 at 6 a.m.
