Grocery store chain Stop & Shop said it has implemented changes at its store in Vineyard Haven after being dinged by the town health department for food safety violations this winter.
An inspection by the town in December found several inadequacies at the Water street location, including mold spores and dripping pipes in the back room food storage area. Refrigerated display cases for seafood were also not cold enough, and the health department found moldy fruit for sale.
In a letter to Stop & Shop on Jan. 16, assistant health agent Frederick Hehre wrote that the company needed to submit a plan to correct the issues, which also included leaking refrigerated cases and a buildup of grime in parts of the building.
Several of these issues were also cited in two prior inspections in 2025.
Stop & Shop submitted its correction plan on Jan. 21, saying it had cleaned the moldy areas and brought in a contractor to fix roof leaks. The plan, sent in by the store manager, said the seafood case has a 24-hour monitoring system and refrigeration work was set to happen.
Increased efforts to clean the store were also in motion.
“As January and February are the slowest months of the year, we have started deep cleaning and set plans in place for all departments to keep up with this,” wrote manager Alyse Hyde in the letter to the town. “It has been reviewed during each Monday meeting we have conducted and will continue to be monitored on a weekly basis.”
Mr. Hehre said Stop & Shop has indicated that the work described in the plan should be completed this week, and the company was also considering replacing the building’s roof this year.
“Upon completion of the plan of correction, the Board of Health will reinspect the establishment to confirm that the identified health risks have been properly addressed,” Mr. Hehre wrote to the Gazette.
Stop & Shop, which also has a recently revamped location in Edgartown, said in a statement Friday that it takes food safety seriously, and it is a top priority to offer customers fresh, high-quality products.
“The concerns raised during the January inspection at our store in Vineyard Haven have been promptly resolved,” spokesperson Stephanie Cunha wrote.
Ms. Cunha also said that the company has a freshness guarantee that allows customers to return perishable items that don’t meet customer’s standards for double the money back.
This article appears in February 27, 2026.
It’s too late now, but my goodness imagine if Tisbury had worked – WITH – Stop & Shop years ago on their goals to implement and construct a new grocery store. That doesn’t make excuses for mold and such here, but let’s be honest, that building is long in the tooth and the bottom line here is Tisbury yet again, failed in mapping out a long-term plan with Stop & Shop. We deserve better.
So true! Remember how Stop and Shop wanted to expand into the old Chinese restaurant? VH tried to force them mitigate all of 5 corners and Beach Road…. That’s why they expanded the Edgartown space and it looks amazing.
I never shop at this market with its crowded parking lot in the middle of town. I think it should be closed. I’d much rather support locally owned Cronig’s with its ample parking or go to the large Stop & Shop in Edgartown. But what would be really wonderful for the island is to have a Trader Joe’s with its reasonably priced gourmet food selection! We truly need another grocery shopping option on the island rather than Stop & Shop’s with its overpriced selection that is routine at best and hygienically dangerous at worst.
There are plenty of locally owned “gourmet food” shops on Island. We don’t need another nationally owned supermarket to compete. What the VH S&S has always needed is more space – but blame that on VH, not S&S.
That is a very old picture. Looks like the old A&P!
For years we have complained about the condition of the Vineyard Haven Stop & Shop, and now the health department has confirmed what many of us have been seeing all along. Mold. Dripping pipes. Warm seafood cases. Moldy fruit for sale. Those aren’t cosmetic issues — they’re food safety failures.
This isn’t about one bad inspection. The building has felt worn and neglected for a long time. You can see it. You can smell it. And shoppers talk about it.
Meanwhile, the Edgartown Stop & Shop is roughly three times the size, with ample parking, modern refrigeration, and a clean, bright layout. I actually enjoy shopping there. Once in a while it feels like stepping off-Island — orderly, well-maintained, and predictable in the best way. It shows what the company can provide when a location is given the space and conditions needed to operate a modern grocery store.
Frankly, I stopped shopping at the Vineyard Haven store years ago. Not out of convenience, but out of confidence.
Employees in Vineyard Haven aren’t the problem. The building is. After years of complaints, it’s reasonable to ask why this situation has been allowed to continue.
We rely on a year-round grocery store here. Residents shouldn’t have to question the basic condition of the place they buy their food.
At some point, “good enough” stops being good enough.
https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2014/05/08/stop-shop-withdraws-expansion-plan
read the comments folks. What a blunder.