Connecticut Grocery Store Closing After 40+ Years
Independent grocer Robert's Food Center is scheduled to close today, after more than 40 years of serving the local Madison, Conn., community.
“After months of contentious negotiations with the landlord, we were unable to reach an agreement on outstanding maintenance issues on the leased structure, which was causing major operational issues for the store,” owner Zach Fusco told Progressive Grocer. “We worked extremely hard to come to an amicable agreement with the landlord but were unable to do so. I am a third-generation grocer and grew up learning the business within the Madison, Conn., location and am extremely sad to be closing a store with a 42-year family legacy. We look forward to continuing to operate the Brookside Market location and work toward another location in the hopefully not so distant future.”
Fusco told local news station News8 that there was an issue causing humidity and mold to accumulate between the drop ceiling and roof of the building, and that replacing some of the drop ceiling last year cost $100,000, while fixing the whole problem could cost up to $300,000.
News8 also reported that there are ongoing lawsuits between Robert’s Food Center, which is responsible for the interior of the store, and the landlord, North Madison Associates, which is in charge of the roof and structure, citing court records.
Ahead of the closing, the grocer has been offering shoppers 25% off retail prices of all grocery, dairy and frozen food products.
In 2022, Fusco was featured among Progressive Grocer’s GenNext honorees. The program recognizes emerging grocery industry leaders under the age of 40. Fusco was nominated for the honor by his father, Robert, who noted that the younger Fusco’s leadership “shows on a daily basis his fun, engaged, hands-on management style; exacting standards; and true passion for the supermarket industry, which is contagious to all team members around him.”
Brookside Market, which Zach Fusco developed and built amid the pandemic, is located in South Glastonbury, Conn.
