Local residents who prefer small grocery stores got bad news last week when Maine-based grocery chain Hannaford announced that its Ayer store will close on Jan. 30 of next year.
According to company spokesman Eric Blom, there are seven other Hannaford markets within roughly 15 miles of the Ayer store, which was a factor that played heavily into the decision not to renew the store’s lease.
The company press release also noted that the other Hannaford stores in the region employ more workers than the one in Ayer, which is among the smallest of the chain’s 187 units. Some of the company’s supermarkets are nearly three times larger than the Ayer store, which a representative for Hannaford said has approximately 13,000 square feet of retail space.
The news of the closing coincides with the arrival of a new 60,000-square-foot Market Basket in Littleton, which celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The closing date is earlier than members of Harvard’s Economic Development Committee (EDC) had been told to expect in prior conversations with the Ayer building’s real estate broker. At the time of their last contact with the broker in April of this year, the EDC was told to anticipate a decision in 2016.
A “white paper” issued by the EDC in April 2013 noted that representatives from other grocery store chains, such as Roche Brothers and Donelan’s, saw the Hannaford in Ayer as “somewhat problematic” in bringing a market to Harvard. With the fate of the Ayer store decided, opportunities for other grocery stores to come to town could arise.
“It’s an interesting development,” wrote EDC Chairman Rich Maiore in an email to the Press. “[It’s] difficult to determine what it means—if anything—for Harvard until we learn more.”
Maiore added that the EDC remains in contact with representatives from other grocery stores, but he said that it is likely too early to determine whether the closing of the Ayer Hannaford will lead to proposals from other chains for a market in Harvard.
Any stores that could potentially come to Harvard would need to be small-concept. The EDC recently decided not to pursue a zoning bylaw amendment to increase the maximum grocery store size allowed in the commercial district. The current bylaw restricts store size to 15,000 square feet, or 30,000 square feet by special permit.
Employees affected by closing
According to the release issued by Hannaford, the decision was made to announce the closing three months in advance so that employees would have more time to look for alternative employment opportunities. Any employees who do not accept positions at other Hannaford locations will be given severance and offered other services to find new work.
Blom noted that customers will continue to be served at the Ayer store until Jan. 30.
