Caraluzzi's Market
Owner: Mark Caraluzzi
Opened: unknown
Cooperative: none
Location: 5 Queen St, Newtown, CT
Photographed: July 9, 2021
Welcome to the Newtown Caraluzzi's! The 32,000 square foot store was built as a smaller store between 1955 and 1962, then expanded three times to its present size. I'm not sure if it's always been a Caraluzzi's or if there were previously other tenants here.
We've seen a Caraluzzi's before, the
stunning Bethel location. There are currently four stores in the chain, with one
recently opened in Danbury that's also gorgeous. The Newtown location is definitely less flashy and modern, but it's still an impressive, well-run supermarket. Although I don't believe Caraluzzi's is a member of any cooperative, they're supplied by Bozzuto's in Cheshire, CT, and use the LifeGoods and Life Every Day brands. They also have a few items under their own brand.
Here in Newtown, we enter to the grand aisle on the left side of the store. Floral is next to the entrance, with produce on the left side of the store. In the back part of the grand aisle is deli and prepared foods in the back left corner, with a cheese island opposite that and bakery on the back wall. Meat runs along the back wall, with a butcher and seafood counter in the back right corner. Dairy and frozen are also on the right side of the store.
As we see, the store is higher-end in its design but also definitely older than Bethel and Danbury. I haven't been to Danbury or Georgetown.
Here we see where produce (to the left, behind the chip shelving) transitions into deli and cheese.
The service counter is on the left side. Check out that cooler for the cured meats and sausage!
Baked goods are behind the cheese island, with the bakery and prepared foods service counters on the back wall. Here's a look across the back wall. I particularly like the flooring in this store...
The grocery aisles are pretty straightforward, but the selection leans a little higher-end.
Much of western Connecticut has a lot of independent or small-chain supermarkets, which I believe is in part because Bozzuto's is located here, which supplies many of them, and I suspect also because IGA originated in this area (near the NY/CT border). The IGA stores in this area -- of which we'll see quite a few -- are supplied by Bozzuto's. Caraluzzi's is supplied by Bozzuto's, but is not IGA.
Here's the meat and seafood service counters in the back right corner of the store.
Dairy and frozen are at the far right side of the store. These fixtures are older, but in excellent condition. As we can see, the entire store is immaculate.
I don't mind the lower ceiling here because it doesn't make the store feel overly cramped.
The frozen foods continue onto the front wall of the store. Since the deli/bakery and meat/seafood area decor doesn't quite match the rest of the store's decor, I'm wondering if those areas were renovated more recently than the rest of the store.
A look across the front-end...
And beyond the registers is a cafe under the hanging lights visible to the right below. It's a very nice setup, facing the large windows on the front of the store.
That's all for Caraluzzi's, and up next we're headed just northwest of Danbury (about 10 miles northwest of here) for an independent store tomorrow here on The Independent Edition!
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