Photo: Matt Shearer/WBZ
WATERTOWN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) – Customers are reacting to a local grocery store getting ready to close after more than 100 years of service.
Russo’s in Watertown feels more like a giant farm stand than an actual grocery store, specializing in fresh produce that is hard to find anywhere else.
Customers like Tean from Waltham say it is a big part of their lives.
“When I decided to buy a house, I said I’m going to live within ten minutes from Russo’s.”
When she found out that the store would be closing over this past weekend, Tean reconsidered her location.
“Now I might have to sell my house,” she said.
The Boston Globe said the company started out as a small farm in the early 1900's and was founded by Antonio Russo. Current owner Tony Russo has been working at his family’s market for more than 70 years, previously working alongside his grandparents, father and uncle.
In a statement released on the store's website, Russo announced that he is retiring and that the business will close this fall.
“It has been Tony's privilege to serve our many wholesale and retail customers for seven decades,” the statement read. “We cannot thank Tony enough for what he has brought to so many people's lives.”
The closure is forcing shoppers, like Leslie from Natick, to stock up on Russo’s products. She spent about 200 dollars.
“It’s like a panic shopping” she said.
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