One who opposed the Price Chopper application was Lino’s then owner, Pasqualino Aparo, who said the big box store would “blow away the town’s character.” If the application were approved, Aparo added, many businesses, including his, would be forced to close or move away.īut John Corona, the applicant’s attorney, said that added competition would help increase consumer choice, and cause other businesses, such as Lino’s and The Durham Market, to continue expanding.
Chopper Plans install#
In 2008, the Planning and Zoning Commission denied an application submitted by Silver Eagle Development to install a Price Chopper on Route 17 after many residents objected during a public hearing.
Small area grocery stores such as Lino’s have been threatened by competition in the past. “When you’re a mom-and-pop shop, with the way the economy is right now, you’re just probably going to close up.” “You put one more in there, it’s just going to cut 20 percent out of your weekly income,” Elcuri said. Other small grocery businesses in the area include The Durham Market, at 238 Main St., and Higganum Village Market, less than 10 miles away in Haddam. “We’re a mom-and-pop place, so, anything that would come in this town, which is a small town as it is … that would hurt my business a lot,” he said. Others, however, said they’re worried that another one would hurt the two existing ones in Durham.īen Elcuri, co-owner of Lino’s Market, said he would oppose any proposal to open another grocery store. Many Durham and Middlefield residents have recently expressed interest in adding another store, saying it would make food shopping more convenient, as well as increase the variety of products available. As the project develops, the EDC will be reviewing it at its monthly meetings.” In a statement, the EDC said it will be “continuing to move forward with the project, working with other boards and commissions within the town.
The business used to employ between 70 to 100 people, but that number has since dwindled to about 40 workers, due to staffing shortages.Ī majority of respondents also said they would like the new grocery store to be located at the north end of Main Street, where Durham Market and Lino’s are situated. Opened in 1984, Robert’s original store was 10,000 square feet in size, and was expanded to 22,000 square feet in 1996.
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