By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer
    
Rumors circulating throughout Kennebunk have finally been confirmed: Hannaford Bros. plans to move into the former Stop & Shop building at The Shops at Long Bank along Route 1.
The Scarborough-based company plans to open the new store sometime in the spring, but no official date has been set, according to Hannaford spokesman, Mike Norton.
Hannaford, Stop & Shop and town officials separately announced the purchase of the 56,800-square-foot building from Stop & Shop, along with a smaller 4,300-square-foot adjacent retail space on Dec. 22. Norton said the company plans to lease out the smaller retail space.
Norton said customers in the area had been “asking us to come in,” and that customer satisfaction was a “very compelling” reason to look at the open building.
 “We knew we would be a popular choice in that community,” said Norton. “It will be really good for customers that may be shopping a little farther away from home than they’d like.”
Hannaford plans to employee 150 full- and part-time employees in the new store, which has been unoccupied for two months.
Stop & Shop, the Massachusetts-based company that previously occupied the building, shut down the store in October. The store opened in 2007 after four years of discussion with Kennebunk and legal challenges over the planning process, including a dispute with Hannaford over the location.
 “I think it’s wonderful that it got filled that quickly,” said Kennebunk Town Manager Barry Tibbetts, who thinks Hannaford’s move into Kennebunk “speaks very highly of Kennebunk’s location and business climate.”
Tibbetts also is pleased by new jobs the store will bring.
“Again, that’s a real big win for Kennebunk; the old Stop & Shop employed a lot of youth from the high school, I’m sure Hannaford will do the same,” Tibbetts said.
Hannaford owns 171 stores across the East Coast and employees 27,000 associates.
Dan Bowen, who owns the Garden Street Market in Kennebunk, said he knew a store would eventually fill the void from Stop & Shop.
 “I fully expected someone else coming into that store. It was never a question of if, it was a question of when,” said Bowen, who has owned the supermarket for 14 years. “We’ll do our best to continue to provide good prices, good quality, and good customer service.”
Bowen said he saw a decline in the number of customers when Stop & Shop opened and a surge when it closed, but a core group of his customers has remained.
The Bowen family has independently owned and operated Garden Street Market since 1996. It is supplied by Hannaford and carries Hannaford brand products, according to its Web site.
Tibbetts said The Shops at Long Bank center also will see the addition of Sebago Brewing  in the next few months.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.