North Adams Big Y Celebrates Renovations

Store Manager Raanan Hartman cuts the cake as Mayor Richard Alcombright, left, and others look on.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Some of the changes at D'Amours Big Y have been obvious throughout the last couple months.

An aisle was knocked down at the entrance for an expanded produce section. Pizza and grinder stations and a soup bar have been set up at the back of the store. New cafe seating now exists on the east side.

BJ's Grand Opening Set This Weekend

BJ's Wholesale On Pace For Fall Opening

 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The new BJ's Wholesale is set to be fully constructed by the end of the September and the store will open shortly after.

According Robert MacPherson, founder of Cape Breton Corp., the company that is building the store, construction and utilities are on pace to be completed and the store can be turned over to BJ's management for an October opening.

"The BJ's is looking, hopefully, to open in the middle or end of September," MacPherson said Tuesday. "Certainly before the first of October is our hope."

The construction, located on Hubbard Avenue behind Price Chopper, is expecting to bring 120 new jobs to the city. The club's website is advertising an array of jobs from an assistant manager to meat cutters to department supervisors.

Big Y Buys Diesel Dan Property for $4.25M

LEE, Mass. — Springfield-based supermarket chain Big Y Foods, Inc., has paid $4.25 million for 9.8 acres of property on which it intends to build a new store.

The site, situated between Exit 2 of the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Lee Prime Outlets, was originally home to Diesel Dan’s Travel Complex.

Colebrook Realty Services, Inc. brokered the sale of the property and its improvements.  Colebrook Principals B. John Dill and Mitch Bolotin represented the seller, NortherEdge/Plant One Realty Trust.  According to documents filed in the Registration of Deeds, the closing date was Sept 20.

Big Y plans to develop a 48,000 square-foot supermarket on the site, with 5,000 square feet of additional retail space. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously on Sept. 1 in  favor of the construction, which is scheduled to begin by the end of the year.

“We are excited to be one step closer to building a Big Y World Class Market in Lee as we continue to move forward with our plans to open this market to better affect customer service strategy for South County,” said Charles L. D'Amour, President and COO of Big Y Foods, Inc., in a statement released by Colebrook today, Oct. 7.

The sale of the property is part of a broader portfolio restructuring on the part of F.L. Roberts & Company, Inc.

According to Steven M. Roberts, President of F.L. Roberts & Company, Inc., “Along came our repurchase opportunity for some of our formerly owned Sunoco station and Colebrook Realty was instrumental in providing a key element to our asset shuffling strategy: a timely Purchase and Sale Agreement with Big Y.  Mitch and Jack did an excellent job in a difficult real estate market.”

Unions Reach Agreement With Stop & Shop

Stop & Shop and its unionized workers are heading toward a strike. United Food and Commercial Workers 1459 says it served notice it will terminate its contract with the supermarket chain as of Friday at noon, as have two other UFCW locals in Rhode Island and Connectictut.

In a update posted on the UFCW site Thursday afternoon, President Scott Macey said the union was willing to negotiate with the supermarket through Friday for "a fair and reasonable offer." However, the union can call a job action at any point and strike without notice, he wrote.

UFCW 1459 covers workers in Berkshire County and Western Mass. Employees at the store in North Adams have said they're prepared to strike and that they've been told by loyal customers that they won't cross at picket line. Stop & Shop also operates two stores in Pittsfield.

Stop & Shop took advertisements in local newspapers for temporary help last month in anticipation of a breakdown in negotiations; talks between the chain and its union have been rocky and a federal mediator was called in to help with the talks.

On its Web site, the grocer stated that "negotiations are continuing and this does not necessarily mean there will be a work stoppage; however the locals would be free to initiate a work stoppage after the 24 hour period ends. If a work stoppage does occur, Stop & Shop may use temporary replacement workers to support our stores."

Any work stoppage would affect more than 300 workers in Berkshire County.

Update at 8:46 p.m.: The five union locals say they're scheduling votes for Sunday on a new offer from Stop & Shop, per federal mediators. According to postings on the UFCW Web site, talks are closer on health and pensions, but the locals feel there should be significant movement on wages and new hires. Stop &  Shop has consistently stated its workers are well paid compared to similar nonunion workplaces.

Update at 9:27 a.m. , March 7: The five union locals say they reached a tentative agreement on Saturday night. The union membership will vote this afternoon; Berkshire County union members will be presented the contract and will vote at the Holyoke Holiday Inn beginning at 3 p.m.

Update, 9:35 a.m., March 8: UCFW has voted to accept the contract offered by Stop & Shop. Some 400 employees in Berkshire County and Western Mass. attended a presentation Sunday on the offer, which passed 307-23. UCFW 1459 President Scott Macey said the contract protected many benefits and contained other improvements. In a posting on the Web site, Macey said the union got about 92 percent of what it wanted.

"Today was a very good day. We were able to present a very good package," he said. "Tremendous improvements in health and welfare and pension plan staying the same, and a few other improvements, I couldn't be happier with the outcome today."

Four other UCFW locals also approved the contract, averting a strike.