Video: Winthrop Hannaford store to open in July

The new Hannaford Brothers supermarket in Winthrop, under construction behind the current Mr. Market, will open towards the end of July 2009, according to Michael Norton, Hannaford spokesperson. The new store, at 36,000 square feet, will be close to double the size of the current Mr. Market at 21,100 square feet. While it is smaller than the Whitten Road Hannaford Brothers off 202 going into Augusta, it will have the same departments: pharmacy, butcher, produce, seafood, bakery, deli, spirits, and flowers.There will be a two-month period, June and July 2009, during which both stores will be closed. During that time, the old Mr. Market will be taken down and a parking lot built on the site and the new Hannaford Brothers will undergo finishing work on the interior, with shelf stocking beginning in July. "We are pretty vigilant about recycling everything we can," said Norton with regard to what will happen to the materials from the old building. The company plans to recycle cardboard, plastic, and metal, with fixtures redistributed amongst existing Hannaford supermarkets as much as possible. Customers shopping at the new store will see familiar Mr. Market faces. "Anyone who wants to continue will be able to do so," says Norton. "There will be seven weeks where there will be no store in Winthrop. Some will work in other Hannaford stores around the area." The company plans to train employees in assistant roles before moving them into similar roles they've held in the past so they can learn Hannaford methods. The same policy of hiring young people locally that Mr. Market has had will continue, he stated. "In the summer season we have an especially high need for people, especially young summer associates," he said. Asked if he views the Stevenson's produce stand on 202 or the new Farmers Market planned for Wayne as competition, Norton said Hannaford understands that its customer base wants local produce for many reasons, from "taste and feeling like they are supporting open space to just knowing where their food comes from or the person who grew it." "We try to support the local economy," he said. Company policy is for the store manager to have a relationship directly with local farmers, who negotiate a delivery schedule and products and then deliver right to the store. There are about 220 farmers across the states the company serves, namely Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, with whom they have relationships. Some of the local farms, however, are large enough that their produce goes through the Hannaford distribution center. Other than locally, the Winthrop and the South Portland distribution centers will supply the Winthrop supermarket. Hannaford has been honored for its promotion of a healthy lifestyle, both as an employer and as a purveyor of products. Initiatives range from the health care plan to confidential employee assistance programs to direct health education. With regard to consumers' health, Hannaford ranked as one of America's 10 healthiest grocery stores in a Health magazine survey. The company puts ratings representing "good, better, or best nutritional value" on unit price tags throughout the store. Organic produce, in-store nutrition classes, efforts to reduce childhood obesity and teaching good nutrition on a tight food budget were other reasons for the award. The company provided over $260,000 worth of food and gift cards in Maine during the "Hannaford Helps Fight Hunger" 2008-09 holiday season program, says the company.