Destroyed by fire in March, Southington’s Tops Marketplace plans February reopening

June 04-- Jun. 4--Buoyed by community support in Southington, John Salerno is gearing up to rebuild the popular Tops Marketplace grocery store that burned down in March.

An insurance payout will cover most of the estimated cost to rebuild, Salerno said, and he's looking to suppliers and a local bank to finance the rest.

"At my age it would be easy to just take the money and run, but we're not going to do it that way," Salerno, 68, said. "I've gotten tremendous support from my older daughter -- she's been with me all along in negotiating the whole deal and getting this done."

Tops announced on its Facebook page that it hopes to reopen in February, and Salerno said he's looking to keep much of the original team intact. He and Betsy Tooker will run the store, his son will manage the meat department, his daughter will handle finances, and at least a half-dozen employees will return, he said.

The store will be rebuilt on the same Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike site, and will be the same 14,000-square-foot size as the original.

"We'll have exactly the same footprint. The town has been very good to us is pushing things through, approving the site plan," he said. "Everything will be the same, but nicer. We'll have state of the art equipment that really treat food well and treats the energy bill well."

Tops built a loyal customer base over more than 65 years, as well as a reputation for aiding local civic groups, sports teams and community charities.

It operated as an independent grocer, with most of its inventory coming from Cheshire-based Bozzuto's. Salerno said he's convinced there's a solid market for a small, independent supermarket in Southington.

"The industry is changing constantly, but I think people are going back to the smaller stores -- especially the younger generation," he said. "They like amazon and the big boxes for certain things, but they want that small-store touch. They like fresh foods and prepared meals."

Don Stacom can be reached at [email protected].

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