That is the same setup with Bennington - sharing a plaza with Price Chopper. Having not been since they expanded the store I can't say for sure, but might think they do less grocery due to the PC as well as the still limited space they have (somewhere around 100,000 Sq. Ft. with the expansion which is still smaller than most Super type stores they normally build), but that may not be the case.mjhale wrote: ↑April 8th, 2022, 2:28 pm Similar situation in Rutland, VT. The store I've heard is that Kmart moved from their downtown location to the then new mall which opened in 1995. Walmart wanted into Rutland. The town said the only way you'll be approved is if you take over the old downtown Kmart space. I was in the Rutland Walmart a few times in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Every time I was there it was packed. They share the center with Price Chopper so I'd be curious what the grocery offerings are these days. Back then it was the typical chips, snacks, juice and soda stuff that Walmart sold. The mall in Rutland has since closed and is up for redevelopment. I'd be curious to know if Walmart has made any moves to try to open a supercenter at the redeveloped site. Walmart has so few stores in Vermont that they don't have anything else within a reasonable drive of Rutland.
That makes sense, and you also have to note that these towns on the NY side of the state (including Bennington in the south all the way up) often get business from many in NY as well. Not just the small differences in taxes, but that many of the NY towns that are close to the state line have little, if any, options of their own (for instance Hoosick, about 9 miles from Bennington, has only an old Grand Union that is now a Tops market and used to have a Rite Aid which I think became Walgreens in that split up, so Bennington with Price Chopper, Hannaford, Aldi, CVS and Walmart offers quite a few more options - and some of the towns may not even have that much on the NY side - the same occurs most of the way down NYS with MA and CT as well).buckguy wrote: ↑April 8th, 2022, 2:40 pm It's cheaper to shop in New Hampshire (no sales tax), so you see a lot less chain retail in much of Vermont than you might expect. The corridor from about Rutland to Burlington is far away from the border where discounters or big boxes could be viable, although they have to deal with zoning in those places.