NORWICH – The Norwich grocery store, Save-a-Lot, closed it doors this past weekend without a clear answer of when it might open again.
Store Manager Nicole Delaney said the current owner, James Diamond, was in the process of selling the company to a prospective buyer. “Hopefully it will open up soon under new management,” she said, without offering a specific date. She declined further comment, saying the sale was tentative and that she did not wish to disturb the negotiations.
Tuesday, employees could be seen removing the last of the store’s products from the shelves into waiting transport vehicles at the South Plaza site. The store now stands virtually empty.
Customer Nancy Funk was one of the dozens of patrons who arrived at the store Tuesday to find herself turned away by employees packing up the last of the inventory.
“We’re closed until further notice,’ they told me. They said they might be opening up in a couple of weeks or a month from now under new management,” she said as she left the parking lot.
“They have things here I’m not sure I can get other places,” she said. Funk said she used to buy four-pound bags of lard from the store to make pies, but didn’t know of any other store in the area that sold the product.
Another customer turned away was Melony and her two children, who live in Norwich.
“They’re cheaper than the rest of the places we go and they are at least within walking distance of the city. Some people on a fixed budget depend on this place and now they’ll have to rely on the dollar stores for food or pay the extra money to get less food from one of the other chains in town. I suppose that’s what we’ll need to do anyways,” she said.
She also confirmed that store employees told her they would be closed temporarily for a few weeks to a month before opening with a new owner. “They said they weren’t sure when, but said they would be back. I hope they come back,” she said.
Save-a-Lot’s owners could not be reached for comment.