A long-vacant supermarket space on Danbury's east side has new life. ShopRite at Nutmeg Square, 72 Newtown Road, officially opened Monday, Nov. 2, giving area shoppers another full-service grocery option after the site sat empty for roughly two years.
Cingari Family Markets, which operates the ShopRite banner across the region, opened the store as part of what the city of Danbury describes as a combined investment of more than $40 million in the community, according to a city release cited by i95 ROCK. That figure covers both the new Nutmeg Square store and the family's renovation of its existing ShopRite location on Padanaram Road, per the same release. Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves attended the grand opening celebration, along with Farley Santos, the city's economic and community development advisor, city council members and representatives from the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce.
Filling a Space Empty Since the Former Stop & Shop Closed
The store occupies the former Stop & Shop anchor space at Nutmeg Square, which had sat vacant for roughly two years before Cingari Family Markets moved in. Accounts differ on exactly when the space went dark — Westfair Business Journal reported it had been empty since November 2024, while The News-Times reported the vacancy dated to October 2024. The outlets also diverge on the store's size, with Westfair describing a 59,000-square-foot space and Royal Properties putting the figure at 54,000 square feet.
Estimates of the Nutmeg Square investment itself have varied over time as plans developed. Royal Properties reported in January that the location was expected to undergo an $18 million renovation ahead of a fall 2026 opening, while Santos told The News-Times in December that the Cingari family planned to invest more than $20 million in the location specifically. Alves, in that same News-Times report, framed the Nutmeg Square project together with the Padanaram Road upgrade as representing a combined investment exceeding $40 million in Danbury.
What's Inside the New Store
Shoppers walking into the new ShopRite will find a grab-and-go meal station, an artisan bakery, a full-service butcher counter, a deli and a floral department, the store's offerings described by Westfair. The Nutmeg Square location also offers expanded grocery and pharmacy services, giving thousands of area residents on Danbury's east side another option for everyday shopping.
Jobs and a Donation Tied to the Opening
Hiring for the new location ramped up over the summer. Cingari Family Markets held a job fair in late September aimed at filling roughly 200 full-time and part-time positions, according to a report from the Hartford Courant. City officials have said the broader Cingari investment in Danbury is expected to support more than 200 jobs and create employment opportunities and potential career paths for local workers, per the city release.
At the grand opening, city representatives presented commemorative plaques to the Cingari family, and the family donated $10,000 to Connecticut Foodshare, an organization that works to address food insecurity throughout the state. The timing lands amid broader concern about grocery access statewide: a survey released by UConn Today found that 76% of food pantry guests reported having to choose between buying food and paying another important expense in the prior year. The survey, conducted by Connecticut Foodshare and UConn between March and July 2025, polled 524 pantry guests across 17 Connecticut food pantries.
Feeding America estimates more than 560,000 Connecticut residents, or roughly one in seven, are food insecure, according to the UConn report. Connecticut Foodshare distributes food to more than 450 agency partners and more than 100 mobile food pantry locations statewide, the same report notes, underscoring the scale of need the organization is working to meet even as new grocery options like ShopRite at Nutmeg Square open their doors in Danbury.
