When the post office in Edgartown moved from the down town area to it's present location, it came very close to being the proverbial last nail in the coffin. Evidenced on any off season day by the gloomy,empty,silence and the closed and locked shop doors. Moving the Stop and Shop out of town, would be the end. The idea of regionalization to a central location, would eventually leave all of the towns without a hub, stripped of their individual characters, void of life, and left to brown, and dry up like spent fall leaves blowing aimlessly down empty, darkened streets. Don't promote taking the beating hearts that give us life from our towns. Don't look to regionalization as an answer. There are things in life worth more than money and convenience.

I agree with Mr. Rapone and disagree with BF. The island's year round population of 16000 simply can't support the three down island towns filled with small specialty shops. The shop owners are not going to cover the rent and staff expenses selling the occasional items in the winter. Online shopping adds to the situation. I am simply thankful for the few shops and restaurants that do stay open. Putting a supermarket in a central location would certainly solve the problems of parking (impossible much of the year) and overcrowded aisles of the current stores. Have you ever seen the dairy aisle without restocking racks in it? Me neither. Centralizing the market would also free up the summer traffic flow for the shops in town that rely on summer shoppers to support the rents. I can honestly say that in the thirty years I have shopped at Stop and Shop/ A&P, I have never felt the pull to continue further down Main Street for a $25 t-shirt on the same trip. I often patronize some delightful shops in town, just not while my ice cream is meltin.