Stop & Shop officials offer more details on CT store closings

Jul. 29—Stop & Shop leaders have begun meeting with workers at the 32 "underperforming stores" it plans to close later this year, including five in Connecticut, a spokeswoman said.

Stop & Shop officials have promised to find jobs for all employees at the stores which it will be closing. And although officials with the company aren't saying how many people that is, spokeswoman Stephanie Cunha said Stop & Shop executives "are meeting with all impacted associates from the closing stores to understand their preferences for new locations and learn more about their backgrounds and experiences."

"Our next steps involve carefully planning their placements and promptly communicating these new assignments," Cunha said. "Our goal is to support our associates through this transition and welcome them to their new work locations in a prompt manner prior to the closure of their current location."

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All of the stores will close before Nov. 2, she said and employees at each of the locations that will be closing "will be made aware of the closure at least four weeks prior to a closing." Cunha declined to be more specific about the employee notification timetable

"We will communicate all details, which includes the store closure date and the nearest Stop & Shop location, through in-store signage, customer emails and the weekly circular," Cunha said.

The Stop & Shop stores in Connecticut that are closing are in Ansonia, Dambury, Milford, Stamford and Torrington. With the exception of the Stop & Stop location in Ansonia, Stop & Shop will still have a store in the other four communities.

The Massachusetts-based company employs 12,000 people in Connecticut.

Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone was among the Connecticut public officials who were frustrated with the company for not giving them advanced notice of the store closings, which were announced two weeks ago.

Cunha said Stop & Shop's government relations team "has been in contact with local officials to discuss our store closures."

"We will make ourselves available to speak to any public officials who would like to discuss closing details over the next few months," she said.

Since the initial store closing announcement, Carbone said she has met with the director and chairman of the Northwest Connecticut Transit District about how public transit in the city and surrounding communities can be modified to help those who shop and work at 211 High St. Stop & Shop, which is slated to close.

"They confirmed that providing additional transportation services will not be a problem," the mayor said of Northwest Connecticut Transit District officials. "Northwest Connecticut Transit District Transit is working on some additional stops that will provide adequate coverage."

Carbone said she has also she has also been in touch with the owner of Torrington Commons, which is where Stop & Shop is located. The retail center, is owned by Elmsford, N.Y.-based DLC Management Corp.

"We are planning to meet with them in Torrington to discuss the development that is scheduled to happen around that plaza and to share some of the contacts that my Economic Development Director has made with other grocery stores and other "super store" options that may be explored," Carbone said. "We are working with a developer that owns the Hotchkiss Mill — directly behind the DLC owned plaza. That development project is moving along with a potential for up to 150 new apartments and commercial space."

She said the former Torrington Lumber Company property was acquired by the state Department of Transportation and is the new location of the Transit District's offices and bus storage facility.

"We continue to work with Franklin Products and the Naugatuck Railroad to implement improvements of parking lot, rail platform and streetscape at the entrance to the plaza (Torrington Commons) from Water Street," Carbone said. "We feel confident that these improvements will help redefine the plaza and, hopefully, encourage some reinvestment in the same."

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