The Stop&Shop Closure Affects Every Torrington Resident: Here's How We Fix It

When the Stop&Shop on High Street closed in October 2024, plenty of Torrington residents shrugged and said, "that's not my problem; I don't shop there anyway." But the ripple effects from this closure are hitting every corner of our city, affecting your commute, your local businesses, your property values, and your tax bill. Here's why every Torrington resident has a stake in solving our city's new “food desert” problem.

A food desert is an area where residents lack easy access to affordable, nutritious fresh food. It’s typically defined as any urban area more than one mile from a full-service grocery store. When the Stop&Shop closed, it created exactly this situation for Torrington's south side.

Real People Are Struggling 

Before diving into the community-wide impacts, it's important to understand who's directly affected by this closure. The 14-story Torrington Towers, located just 900 feet from the closed supermarket, houses approximately 200 residents. Many are elderly or disabled. Douglas Drake, a Towers resident, captured the challenge in an interview with NBC News Connecticut.  "I don't drive at all, it's hard for me even to go over there – I can't even walk. I just was trying to figure out, where am I going to get food?"

But the impact of the closure stretches far beyond that single building. The entire south end of the city is heavily residential, with hundreds of families who depended on that store for their shopping and pharmacy needs. Many are working families with one car, elderly residents who prefer not to drive long distances, parents with young children who found it convenient to walk for quick trips, and residents without any reliable transportation at all.

These aren't abstract statistics; they're our neighbors. What’s more, their struggles create broader problems affecting everyone else. 

Traffic Congestion is Getting Worse for Everyone

When the High Street store closed, the customers didn't disappear. They're now competing with you for parking spaces and checkout lanes at the remaining stores.

The math is simple: the High Street Stop&Shop served hundreds of customers daily who could walk or take short trips. Now those same residents are making longer drives, multiple times per week, adding to traffic congestion. Every extra car trip from food desert residents means more traffic for everyone else trying to get around town. This means more cars on our roads during peak shopping times, longer commutes for everyone, and increased wear on city streets that we all pay to maintain.

Local Businesses are Losing Customers and Revenue

Supermarkets don't operate in isolation. They're anchor businesses that drive foot traffic to surrounding shops and services. When Stop&Shop closed, it didn't just eliminate jobs at that location. It also reduced customer traffic to nearby businesses.

“This matters for all of Torrington because business revenue directly affects our tax base,” stated City Councilman and Mayoral candidate Stephen Ivain. “When businesses struggle due to reduced foot traffic, they generate less in local sales taxes and property taxes. Some may even close, leaving empty storefronts that further depress property values and make our city less attractive to new businesses and residents.”

The Neighborhood's Marketability Is Declining

When potential home buyers look at Torrington neighborhoods, they're evaluating walkability and access to daily necessities. The High Street closure makes our entire city less competitive with surrounding towns. When buyers search online for homes, they're looking at drive times to grocery stores, walkability scores, and neighborhood amenities. A closed grocery store sends negative signals about community vitality.

When one area lacks basic amenities like grocery access, it makes the whole community seem less desirable compared to nearby towns and cities where residents can easily walk to essential services. Real estate agents report that buyers increasingly want neighborhoods where they can accomplish daily tasks without driving long distances.

Meanwhile, our municipal budget faces the same pressures as everywhere else – rising costs for police, fire, education, and infrastructure maintenance. “We can't afford to lose tax revenue from struggling businesses,” Ivain said. “Every empty storefront and declining neighborhood increases the burden on everyone else.”

The Solutions: Policy Tools That Work

Other cities our size have successfully tackled this exact problem using smart policy tools and strategic partnerships. These aren't pie-in-the-sky ideas – they're proven solutions that work.

Strategic Tax Incentives Cities across the country use targeted tax incentives to attract grocery stores to underserved areas. Prince George's County, Maryland offers 75% property tax reductions for 10 years to grocery stores that locate in food deserts and dedicate adequate space to fresh produce. Baltimore provides 80% personal property tax credits for stores investing at least $150,000 in food desert areas.

Keith Farrell, City Council candidate, noted that “Torrington could implement similar incentives that cost us nothing upfront but generate long-term property tax revenue as property values recover and local business activity increases. These incentives pay for themselves through increased economic activity and higher property values.”

Public-Private Partnerships Pennsylvania's Fresh Food Financing Initiative shows how strategic government investment can leverage private capital. The state invested $30 million in grants and loans, which attracted $175 million in total investment and created 88 new or improved stores plus 5,000 jobs.

If Connecticut launched a similar program, Torrington could be first in line. With state support covering startup costs and risk mitigation, private grocery chains become much more willing to serve smaller communities. These partnerships create sustainable, profitable stores that don't require ongoing subsidies.

Zoning and Regulatory Reform Sometimes the biggest barriers to new grocery stores are outdated zoning requirements and regulatory hurdles. Philadelphia reduced parking requirements and streamlined permitting for fresh food markets. Hartford requires convenience stores to stock basic fresh foods, increasing healthy food access without new construction.

Torrington could review our zoning codes to eliminate unnecessary barriers to grocery store development. This costs nothing but makes it easier and cheaper for businesses to serve our community.

“We’ve all heard businesses complain about lengthy permitting processes,” notes City Council candidate Rachel Harrel. “Torrington can’t afford to scare off potential businesses with outmoded policies. We need to streamline our system, making it more efficient to get things done.”

Federal and State Funding Multiple federal programs provide grants and low-interest loans for grocery store development in underserved areas. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative offers significant funding for stores, and Community Development Block Grants can support food retail as economic development projects.

“Connecticut municipalities can access these programs with proper grant writing and planning,” Ivain added. “The key is having local leadership that actively pursues these opportunities instead of waiting for problems to solve themselves.”

Direct Outreach to National Chains Sometimes the solution is as simple as asking. Trader Joe's, for example, has a formal process for communities to request new store locations at https://www.traderjoes.com/home/contact-us/request-a-store . While there's no guarantee, organized community requests do get corporate attention and help companies identify underserved markets with strong potential customer bases.

As Mayor, Ivain proposed that “local leadership could coordinate outreach efforts to multiple chains, presenting Torrington's demographic data, traffic patterns, and community support for new grocery development. This costs nothing but could generate interest from retailers who might not have considered our market otherwise.”

The Path Forward

The Stop&Shop closure created a problem that affects every Torrington resident. But this crisis also creates an opportunity to show what effective local leadership can accomplish.

Other cities our size have successfully addressed identical challenges using tax incentives, public-private partnerships, regulatory reform, and strategic use of federal funding. These aren't theoretical solutions – they're working right now in communities from Kansas to Maryland to Pennsylvania.

What's needed is local leadership willing to treat food access as the economic development and infrastructure issue it really is. Instead of waiting for private markets to maybe, someday, possibly address this problem, we need leaders who will actively pursue the policy tools and partnerships that create solutions.

Food deserts aren't just about food: they're about whether our city thrives or declines. Every resident has a stake in solving this problem, and every voter has the power to choose leaders who will actually address it.

Ivain added, “The question isn't whether we can afford to solve this problem. It's whether we can afford not to.”