"We appreciate the community's enthusiasm as it was a long wait." That line came from The Market by Key Food on its Facebook page the day before it opened at 200 Leavenworth Road, as Patch reported on Sept. 30. The wait was close to a year. It began in October 2025, when Adams Hometown Market left the same 15,000-square-foot space in White Hills Shopping Center. It ended on Oct. 1, 2026, when the new store opened at 10 a.m.
The grocery store was the last piece to come back. A coffee shop and a dog-training business were already there when the supermarket opened. White Hills Shopping Center refilled in reverse, with the small tenants first and the anchor last. Now that the anchor is open, Shelton's north end has its own full grocery stop on Route 110 again.
How the Plaza Refilled, in Order
The year is easiest to follow as a timeline. Each step comes from local coverage or city records.
| Date | What happened at White Hills Shopping Center |
|---|---|
| Oct. 1, 2025 | A spokesperson for Bozzuto's Inc., which owns the Adams Hometown Market chain, told Patch the Shelton store would close on about Oct. 10 |
| Jan. 2, 2026 | CT Insider reports Key Food will take the vacant supermarket space later in the year, with no opening date set |
| Feb. 2, 2026 | White Hills Coffee & Deli is reported as coming to the plaza, in the space The Hills had occupied |
| Spring 2026 | White Hills Coffee & Deli opens |
| May 13, 2026 | Shelton Planning and Zoning approves sign applications 6–0 for The Market by Key Food, White Hills Coffee & Deli and Pawsitive Approach |
| Aug. 2, 2026 | White Hills Coffee & Deli holds its grand opening |
| Oct. 1, 2026 | The Market by Key Food opens at 10 a.m. |
Patch's October 2025 story noted that the Shelton store had already dropped off the Adams website's list of locations. Adams still runs a store in Milford. By January, CT Insider reported that Mayor Mark Lauretti had confirmed Key Food as the next tenant, though he couldn't say when it would open.
The May minutes list all three new tenants' sign applications together. After that approval, the grocery store was still more than four months from opening.
The Last Delay Was a Storm
The store first planned to open on Wednesday, Sept. 30. A storm passed through Connecticut the weekend before and held up the final deliveries, so the opening moved to Thursday, Oct. 1, according to Patch.
The Connecticut Scoop reported that the space was thoroughly renovated after Adams closed. It describes The Market by Key Food as a newer concept from the grocery chain, meant to give this location a more local feel. Key Food is a New Jersey-based cooperative of independently owned grocery stores, per CT Insider.
These departments were listed at opening:
- Produce
- Fresh meats
- Deli
- Floral
- Bakery
- Prepared foods and grab-and-go meals
The store also offers a free club savings card. The store's Facebook page says shoppers can use it to clip coupons, browse the weekly circular and build a shopping list.
The Hours Are a Little Different From Adams
Anyone who remembers the old store's hours should note one change. In October 2025, Adams was open every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. At opening, The Market by Key Food listed these hours:
- Monday through Saturday: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Sunday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Six days a week match the old schedule exactly. On Sundays the new store opens an hour later and closes an hour earlier. Those were the hours posted for opening day, and a new store can adjust its schedule in its first few months.
The Rest of the Stop on Leavenworth Road
The plaza had already changed before the supermarket opened. Those changes make a stop there useful for more than groceries.
White Hills Coffee & Deli is at 202 B Leavenworth Road. CT Insider reported that it opened in the spring and held its grand opening Aug. 2. The specialty drinks lean sweet. Maple donut cold brew and bananas foster cold brew are on the regular menu, alongside a Nutella mocha and an iced cinnamon roll latte. Past specials have included an Almond Joy latte and a carrot cake drink. For breakfast and lunch, the shop serves egg-and-cheese sandwiches, bagels, croissants, doughnuts, scones, deli subs and paninis. Its reported hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The café's weekend hours fit around the grocery store's. Both open at 7 a.m. on Saturday, and on Sunday both open at 8 a.m. The café closes by 3 p.m. on both weekend days, so a coffee and a grocery run fit in the same weekend morning.
Pawsitive Approach lists its address as 202 Leavenworth Road and offers group and private dog-training lessons.
Newtown Savings Bank has its White Hills branch next door at 194 Leavenworth Road.
So a single parking lot now covers groceries, coffee, a bank branch and dog training.
Why Route 110 Matters on Shelton's Grocery Map
The plaza's location is what makes its return matter. When CT Insider covered the Key Food lease in January, it described Shelton's grocery market as highly competitive. Its list was ShopRite, Big Y and Stop & Shop, all on Bridgeport Avenue, plus a Trader Joe's that opened in early December 2025. Every other supermarket on that list sits on the same corridor in the southern part of the city.
The Market by Key Food is the one on Leavenworth Road, in the White Hills section. For the year the space sat empty, the plaza's newer tenants were open, but the city's full-service supermarkets were all on Bridgeport Avenue. Since Oct. 1, the north end has its own again.
Bridgeport Avenue has been changing too. Earlier this year this blog tracked how Shelton's dining moved toward Bridgeport Avenue while downtown Canal Street shifted its focus. The White Hills reopening adds a second center of everyday errands at the other end of town.
Heading Into the Holidays at the North End
Readers will see this on Thursday, Nov. 5, about five weeks after the store opened. Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26. Supermarket holiday hours often differ from the regular schedule, and this is the store's first holiday season at the address. Its Facebook page is the most direct place to check for Thanksgiving hours and any holiday ordering.
White Hills also has another big seasonal draw at Jones Family Farms. The farm's cut-your-own Christmas tree visits come with its Harvest Kitchen, which serves farm-made cookies, mulled cider and cider. Last year the farm treated Nov. 28 through Dec. 5, 2025, as peak tree season and required reservations for all guests over Thanksgiving weekend and the first weekend of December. Those were the 2025 dates. The 2026 schedule and reservation rules will be posted on Jones Family Farms' own site, and that is the place to check before planning around Thanksgiving weekend.
Last year's tree season came after Adams closed and before Key Food opened. This year, both White Hills stops are open, and the plaza on Leavenworth Road has a full grocery store again, plus coffee and sandwiches.
If you live in White Hills or anywhere off Route 110, these are the details we track for our neighbors: which store opened where, how the north end differs from Bridgeport Avenue, and what that means day to day. If you're weighing a move within Shelton or want to know what your home is worth now that the plaza is full again, The Kasey Team can walk you through what's happening on your side of town. Start with a home valuation or browse our Shelton neighborhood guide.
