This story was written by Mark Fortier and posted by Ryan O'Connor.
Stop & Shop announced Tuesday that it is closing all six of its New Hampshire stores, including the location in Bedford.
The stores - and three gas stations run by the company - will close on or before Sept. 21, according to a press release.
The six New Hampshire Stop & Shop stores are located at 137 Portsmouth Ave. in Exeter, 7 Kilton Road in Bedford, 9 Wason Road in Hudson, 601 Nashua St. (Route 101A) in Milford and 777 South Willow St. and 365 Lincoln St. in Manchester.
"We continually assess our stores and operating performance. Our six stores in New Hampshire have not achieved performance goals after many years of investment, and we have made the difficult decision to close these underperforming stores," Joe Kelley, president of Stop & Shop's New England Division, said in a prepared statement. "This action will allow us to focus our investment and resources on continuing to grow our business in other areas of the Northeast.
"We are sensitive to the impact this decision will have on our associates, our loyal customers, and the communities we have served," Kelley added. "We deeply appreciate the years of dedicated service our associates in New Hampshire have provided since 2003, and the loyal patronage from our customers."
Stop & Shop said it will work with UFCW Local 1445 and state and local government officials to provide job search assistance and to support associates who will be impacted.
Information regarding closing of these stores will be conveyed at each location as it becomes available. Customers with questions can call Stop & Shop's Consumer Affairs Department at 1-800-767-7772 (option 3, then option 6) Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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