Super Saver IGA to close soon

WINSTED —  Super Saver IGA, 372 Main St., is scheduled to close by the end of this month.

The store is the last grocery store located on Main Street in downtown Winsted.

Over the years other grocery stores operated in downtown Winsted but all eventually closed.

The last grocery store in Winsted, Super Stop & Shop in Ledgebrook Shopping Plaza, is approximately 2 miles away from Super Saver IGA.

Store owner John Dwan made the closing announcement in an email to local media on Thursday, May 4.

“After a good deal of consideration I have decided to close the Winsted Super Saver,” Dwan wrote. “Unfortunately, an agreement on the sale of the store could not be reached in time to coincide with my scheduled retirement.”

Dwan was referring to the current legal case between Community Health and Wellness of Greater Torrington (CHWC) against the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

CHWC previously submitted a special permit application to convert Super Saver IGA into a medical clinic.

On April 10, the commission voted to reject the application by a vote of 3-2.

In turn, CHWC filed a lawsuit against the commission on April 27 at the Superior Court of Litchfield.

The lawsuit claims the members of the commission who voted against the application all had conflicts of interest.

In his email, Dwan thanked his customers for supporting the store.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the Winsted community for these 35 years,” Dwan wrote. “I have enjoyed living and working in the community and especially lending a helping hand to all of the worthy causes that have knocked on my door. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of my customers, employees and vendors that have supported the Winsted Super Saver and continue to support me now.”

Dwan, who grew up in Litchfield, and currently lives in East Canaan, purchased the store in August 1981 with Michael Luzi.

Luzi went on to purchase a different grocery store in 1998, leaving Dwan as the sole owner.

Dwan would not give any comments to The Winsted Journal for this story.

It is not known how many people will be laid off due to Dwan shutting it down. 

Responses to retirement

Via email to The Winsted Journal, Mayor Candy Perez wrote that both Dwan and IGA “have always been an integral part of the community.

“I appreciate all of his efforts over the years to help in the community for the different organizations as well as the town events,” Perez wrote.

“It’s John’s decision to move forward with his plans to retire,” Economic Development Commission Chairman Phillip Allen said. “It’s not for me to say whether or not he should hang on or not. We all wish him well. He has been a tremendous asset to this community. John is virtually loved by everyone for good reasons. Personally, I have the utmost respect for him.”

As for the impact to the town itself by the store’s closing, Allen said that it would create problems for residents in the short term.

“There is an effort to bring a market into the downtown area,” Allen said. “Unfortunately, it does not coincide with John’s timeline. But the lack of a market in the downtown area will not be a permanent condition.”

Allen, along with Community Lawyer Charlene LaVoie, is leading a group to start a food co-op in town which will be called The Mad River Market.

As explained on the market’s website at www.madrivermarket.squarespace.com, a food co-op is owned by members through shares.

“The situation with the Mad River Market is separate and independent of anything having to do with Community Health and Wellness, IGA and the Planning and Zoning Commission,” Allen said. “We will find a suitable location whether it is in the former IGA building, the former Bank of America building or some piece of real estate in the downtown area. We will find a suitable location and either lease it or buy it. It may be the former Super Saver building, or it may not. We don’t know yet. There are lots of advantages to us to be in the IGA space but there are also advantages to other locations.”

Tax abatement discussion

At the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, May 1, both Dwan and Super Saver IGA were discussed during the public comments portion of the meeting.

At the meeting, Planning and Zoning Commission member Jerry Martinez spoke to the board about possible tax abatements for Dwan.

Martinez was one of the two members of the commission who voted to approve CHWC permit, the other was Commission Chairman Craig Sanden.

“From what I understand the Town Manager [Robert Geiger] offered a tax abatement to John Dwan to turn away an offer of purchase to the IGA property to the Community Health and Wellness Center back in June,” Martinez said.

“That’s not quite how it went,” Geiger told Martinez.

“I have a couple of questions about that because I have a series of emails between you, John and Charlene LaVoie discussing this matter over a period of eight months,” Martinez said. “I’m just wondering that, when you made that proposal and it was discussed, was there any mention made toward the [Planning and Zoning] Commission?”

“John came to me and said that he was struggling in terms of his cash flow,” Geiger said. “He was looking for some tax relief. At that time it had nothing to do with anything that was going on with anything, the co-op or the sale of his property. Nothing to do with any of that. He just said that he was struggling and he was looking for some tax relief. I looked up our tax relief policy and it does not really apply to him.”

Geiger said that he was seeking to get “some sort of financial relief” for Dwan but that there was no possibility for it.

According to the town’s tax payment history website located at www.gemsnt.com, last year Dwan paid a total of $29,760.39 in taxes in 2016. Payments were made for grand list years 2014 and 2015 for real estate, personal property, water, sewer and motor vehicle taxes.

Transportation options

As for residents who might have a hard time travelling a distance to Stop & Shop from downtown Winsted, Allen said “All I can say is ‘good luck.’

“Unfortunately, there is nothing we can put in place in the short term to make it easier for people don’t have access to transportation,” Allen said. “We don’t have a way of making that happen in the short term. There will be some investigation on how to increase public transportation, but that’s not something we can put into place quickly.”

Allen said that he did not know how long it would take to put public transportation from downtown Winsted to Stop & Shop in place.

“We have to figure out how to come up with the money to expand public transit, which will probably be a combination of municipal grants and private funding to make this happen,” Allen said. “But I would be surprised if we can make any changes within six months. There are problems in finding funding in the present environment. It’s going to be a challenge.”

Perez wrote that “transit in Winsted, as well as the Northwest Corner, has been a constant conversation with the Northwest Council of Governments, the Northwest Transit District and recently EDAdvance.

“Last fall I was part of a group that discussed the findings of [transportation] need,” Perez wrote via email. “It is recognized that additional and expanded routes throughout Winsted as well as the region would benefit workforce development as well as the ability to reach the plazas. The Town Planner [Steven Sadlowski] has also been involved in discussions with road safety and requiring sidewalks in development plans along Route 44. Clearly, these advances will require funding so that the transportation is affordable for those riding it.”