As with the original location: if you shop the deals you do well at Stop and Shop. As always, I was incredibly impressed by the customer service. And who knew: shopping: there's an app for that. We tried the scan and bag as you go self checkout (with Customer Service assist) using the iphone app. Pretty cool... But, the same issue still stands, the old location was convenient for us, the new one just is not.

I haven't yet been inside, BUT the TRAFFIC ON CHELMSFORD STREET IS HORRIBLE NOW! I pray it subsides,once the novelty of the "New store" wears off.

Beautiful Store! Great Salad bar & Hot Bar! Friendly atmosphere, pleasant to shop there, managers are the nicest people you'll meet! ChelmsfordOpoly on Sale there for $29.99! I'm thrilled we have this now!

Feels warehouse-like because of the dark floor. Prices are significantly more expensive than Market Basket. I may pick up specials or produce, but will stick with MB or Hannaford.

I thought the grand opening deals were awesome. Of course, there are the ongoing deals that make this store worthwhile to shop on some weeks, and there are some products here and there that are worthwhile (such as S&S's moose tracks for $2.79 for 56 oz container and there was a $1 off coupon from a booklet they were handing out), but it won't be good enough to have me spending significant amounts of money every week. I still find that it's best to stick to Trader Joe's for the bulk of my shopping due to their low prices on natural foods, Sam's for bulk items that make sense, Hannaford for deli, produce, seafood, and meat, and then other places such as CVS, Shaw's, and S&S I go on demand and may substitute for my nomal routine depending on deals.

I think the produce was poor. My husband did the shopping so I did not inspect it first. The broccoli was dark brown at the stem and mushy on the floret. The Cortland apples were very bruised and parts were spoiled. The asparagus tops fell off and were not tight. I do not care for Market Basket's produce at all. Hannaford's produce is good. Whole Foods is outstanding but $$$$. I will try Stop and Shop again but I am not optimistic.

I think the new Stop and Shop is tremendous and will be a huge benefit to Chelmsford and Lowell! For anyone who believes that Market Basket is "significantly" cheaper than Stop and Shop and Hannafords, check out the Patch grocery store price comparisons .... there are inevitably items that are both less AND more expensive at Market Basket compared to the other stores.

Agreed with Alex; Market Basket isn't that much noticeably cheaper, unless you are buying processed store brand products. I find many natural products to be a bit pricey at MB (although some are within reason) as well as HBC supplies.

And the service was superior too at S&S, especially when considering the holiday and that they set up a temporary express register on Sunday while parking is more of a constraint than the # of people that can flow through their registers, especially when considering they have the scan it devices to check out while shopping. Any other store would let the lines go for the most part when considering it's the weekend before Thanksgiving.

S&S has a nice store, but I agree with Choward about the warehouse feel. I think that MB did an overall better job with their recent renovations.

For the bulk of what I buy, MB still wins on price. Even though S&S was running some attractive grand opening specials, I didn't find it extremely helpful to my wallet.

While the grand opening is sure to attract a lot of shoppers, I predict that the traffic will not be an ongoing issue. Most shoppers will go back to their usual stores once the grand opening deals expire.

This store is one of the best I've ever seen. To have this in the Lowell Area in Chelmsford backed by a quality company and quality products on average is good for the area. Wasn't a big fan of them. But Market Basket is the same old Demoulas lousy quality late cheap produce, was known for their meat quality, which is bad given that white/pink color of their meat. ugh! This store has quality. Pay 10 bucks more for that alone is worth it. BTW S&S is union. Demoulas cheapskate/scammer are not!

GO AMERICA ~~ I'm shopping Market Basket!!!!!

I liked it, it was still very busy yesterday. Every employee was cheerful and helpful. Market Basket is not friendly at all in my opinion. Their manager never smiles, a smile goes a long way. Shopping for food is tough enough without being around crabby workers. I liked the scan and pack my own groceries as I shopped, made unpacking at home, a breeze.

Keep this in mind; Hannaford and Stop and Shop may have their true main corporate office in another country, but we all have the opportunity to buy a piece of those companies through the stock market (even though I do not currently directly hold either of these companies) whether it'd be outright stock or through a mutual fund we may have. It's tough to determine if we in America have a fair piece of the pie consistent with how much sales are generated in America though.

I'll side that all stores have its pros and cons. Market Basket is the clear store with the majority of market share around here but it caters to the low end shopper who likes processed store brand foods, which is the people that say they are cheaper than anyone else by a landslide. They cater to these people since they have higher profit margins, they don't mark them up as much as the other stores, and they more prominently feature them. I've seen Hannaford having to feature these products more than in the past too, but its the unfortunate reality for them to compete in this type of economy. And that's why Trader Joe's gets most of my grocery shopping business; there's no temptation to buy processed junk and most of the products they carry is priced lower than other stores, with the exception of some produce and dairy.

"it caters to the low end shopper"
Wow, how superior! LOL! I shop at MB for most groceries, and I don't buy "processed store brand foods." Everyone is criticizing the produce, but I've found much of it to be as good if not better than Hannaford. I was in Stop and Shop on the opening day, and as the commenter stated above, the asparagus was terrible. Market Basket carries many natural brands, whole grain foods, and many of the same products as SS and Hannaford, yet it is much cheaper for the most part.

I will continue to shop at MB, and at Hannaford, and Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods and yes, at the new Stop and Shop...as price and convenience dictate.

All of the grocery store options in town have some drawbacks. In general, I like the new S&S, but it does feel like a warehouse club to me due to the bare concrete floors and high naked ceilings, although I like the skylights very much. I like Hannford, except they always put little displays in the aisles which make navigation difficult -- and I'm not mobility-impaired in any way! Market Basket always seems dim and antiquated to me due to their choice of store colors, but I'm glad they've stopped throwing slippery sawdust down in inclement weather.

"Market Basket carries many natural brands"
True they do have a natural food selection, but Trader Joe's beats everyone by far on pricing on natural foods as they really have a very focused selection and they notice that they can accomodate almost all of their customers by only carrying one box size of one brand instead of 6 or 7 different options to buy something like regular cheerios. It is not even anywhere close on price! Their whole wheat bread is $2.79 and for something with a comparable amount of fiber and no HFCS is at least $1 higher otherwise, unless there's a sale. Since many mid end products like chobani, Sara Lee deli meats, and boneless skinless chicken is the same price at Hannaford; and mid end products tend to be cheaper at wholesale clubs for what's available vs MB, that's why I say they cater to the low end shoppers since that's where there's the most noticeable savings vs any other choices.

I do find that at least in Whole Foods, they beat everyone else on selection and they beat some pricing vs Trader Joe's when a sale is combined with a "Whole Deal" coupon. If you're really feeling aggressive, you can even use a manufacturers coupon on top of that.

And I will post just to cover all bases that Trader Joe's is higher than MB and Hannaford on some produce, deli, and dairy as well as some other isolated items (mostly due to sales), but is still lower on 80-85% of my basket when considering comparable ingredients. For example, I can buy store brand graham crackers with no HFCS at MB for $1.99; TJ's charges $2.99 for all natural which is roughly in line with name brand; I'll pay even more if I want all natural elsewhere.

I like it very much. I will not shop at any store exclusively. I will now shop at Stop and Shop also. I love the scanner, all these coupons keep popping up, unadvertised specials. Love Love Love the salad bar, nice offerings. I bought an excellent piece of salmon there on sale. I do like it very much.

In response to all the lauding of Trader Joe's: yes, it is a great store and etc. but for a kid with Peanut allergies, a lot of what they carry is not safe... So years ago it stopped being my "go to store" for healthy items. I don't want to argue the point, I'm just stating my experience. I do better price wise and peanut free wise perusing the labels and shopping at all the closer to where I live stores balancing what each has to get the best for my family: MB, S&S, Hannafords and ordering on line (that comes straight to my door!). And for that matter, a lot of name brands that Traders carries are now carried at mainstream supermarkets often at better prices. The fact is: cost does matter, peanut/tree nut content matters, so for us no one store can fit the bill or be a "favorite." And I'm sure for various reasons that is true for most people.

Responding to John ... I am VERY careful with purchases and spend an inordinate amount of time reading labels ... I do not need to be lectured on the correct way to provide for my family, most of us are much smarter these days and care a great deal about what goes into our bodies (& minds, I might add). To be sure, TJ's is very good, but it is not the where-with-all as you claim ... lots of expired items, never can be sure you'll pick up what you stopped in for and it is a tight, small space. Truth be told, it's not all it's cracked up to be, much as I admit to liking a trip there now and again. I agree heartily with Dierdra, cost is to be considered, content does matter and no one store can ever provide for all of our needs. I do appreciate your opinion, though, as I do those of the others who have taken the time to comment ... but you really need to be more open-minded.

UGH Stop N Shop, they picked a poor location, they think they are so smart being across the street from Market Basket. This now causes traffic jams at the 110 rte 3 south area. The prices are WAY out of the ball park. Market Basket is still the only place to shop for my money.

Wow! Everyone has their opinions and looks like we have some cheerleaders for Trader Joes and Market Basket. As someone who studied the food industry, has shopped nearly every sizable food store in a 45 minute radius, and has a good mind in business, all stores have their advantages and disadvantages. The places to get the lowest total cost on an average basket of goods week in week out are Sam's Club and Costco (but then you pay for it in selection and service and this is validated by Checkbook Magazine). Next in line is Market Basket and Trader Joe's (although TJ's is not validated by Checkbook and I do admit it is tough to compare it based on price for the quality you get) and BJ's is not too far behind them. And then (in order) is Hannaford, S&S, and Shaw's.

Overall, small format stores like Trader Joe's is the trend in the country because they are better able to offer the value that traditional sized supermarkets can't offer due to it's efficiency (and some respects even more efficient than Market Basket as they have no deli or seafood counters to man, no redundant selection, much reduced labor costs in changing shelf tags, etc.)

Market Basket is efficient as it's better able to offer lower pricing due to it's proximity of it's distribution center. And I agree that it offers the biggest savings on processed food vs all other options (hence, it being featured more) although they do have their natural food too but I don't see savings on stuff like Clif bars, etc.

Sending a message to S&S, no I will not shop at your store for four reasons:
1. You deliberately placed your store next to a rival in an attempt to steal their business. That's very bad mojo.
2. You increased traffic to an already struggling traffic situation making it unbearable on locals. I curse you every day I get stuck in the mess. Bad mojo.
3. Your prices are too high and your produce isn't good enough to compete.
4. You're holding your other Chelmsford land for ransom. Another market could go in there to help the flow, but you won't allow it to be sold to a rival. More bad mojo.

True; but I also have to consider Market Basket held up S&S for 10 years (and also Hannaford in Lowell). I think S&S is trying to differentiate itself from competitors by having free childcare, grocery pickup, and an in store nutritionist (the former which is not available elsewhere and the latter two which are rare amenities).

It's the same argument that why I should shop Trader Joe's and Costco over MB and S&S would be that they start people at $10 an hour; and the average non manager employee makes $15-17 an hour after the first couple years at those stores.

And as for the comments about pricing, I'm quite mesmerized about how we have so many banks around here that offer 2-3% interest as opposed to little to nothing on a checking account w/ reasonable hoops to jump through (which amounts to an additional $15-$25 a month (or $180 to $300 per year) and that's assuming a $10k balance (Washington Savings, Beacon Federal, and Workers in particular) and the latter offers free teller transactions at many other branches (thus offering comparable convenience to Bank of America when you take a fine look at the whole picture). Yet, I still see many people banking at Bank of America despite you still have to jump through a hoop to avoid the fee (and most of these local checking deals still are free if you don't fulfill the requirements each month). Yet, many people dispute over pricing differences (of which I agree it depends what you buy in terms of the most ideal store).

One more thought and we'll call it done; re: the relative location of Stop and Shop, it's all about supermarkets trying to compete with one another and stronger competition = all the better for us. In a way, I think the 2nd Westford MB and them planning to operate both locations once opened is much more wasteful than this as it's just a ploy to keep competition out, especially that the location is perfect for any food store to go in (Hannaford, Wegmans, etc.)

The End!!!!! This discussion is now old, gone on since November. Time to retire it and move on, don't y'all think?

I think MB blows S&S away especially since they opened the new deli this weekend. I find that MB has better fish, meat and produce and in general is a better stocked store.