BRIDGTON – With just a little more construction left to go, Hannaford Supermarkets plans to open a new store on Route 302 in March, according to a company spokeswoman.
“We have monitored the market for several years to see if there was potential,” Rebecca Howes of Hannaford’s said Thursday.
She said the store will fill a gap, sparing customers from traveling to North Conway or Oxford to buy Hannaford groceries.
The new store will compete with Food City, which has been operating in Bridgton since 1986.
“We try very hard to be price competitive on items in the deli and meat department, and most frequently our price per pound is less than that of our competitors,” Food City owner Stanley Sclar said Thursday.
He added that all of Food City’s hamburgers and steaks are freshly cut at the store every day.
“A lot of people frequently come to the store just to buy the meats,” he said.
Sclar said Food City already competes against Hannaford’s in its locations in Lewiston, Livermore Falls, Wilton and Lisbon Falls.
Howes said Hannaford’s offers quality products, variety, superior service, good prices and great value as a strategy to lure customers.
Bridgton Selectman Earl Cash said the new supermarket will be helpful for the local economy and that people are enthusiastic about its arrival.
He mentioned that in Bridgton during the 1960s and 1970s, five grocery stores were in business.
Construction on the 36,000-square-foot Hannaford’s store on Portland Road began last summer, Howes said. The parking lot will have 191 spaces.
Howes said most of the interior and exterior work is complete, but equipment is still being installed and exterior signs have not been finished.
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