Milford History Online

Glance above the deli meats at the Milford Shaw’s and you’ll see a photo of the Lorden Lumber boys and their truck — fitting, of course, since the massive grocery store was built on the location of part of the old Lorden Lumber yard. Indeed, a few more historic Milford photographs have been tacked up on the walls of the produce section, almost as if the Shaw’s corporate office put out a memo to better “localize” the branch. Big box grocery stores, however, are not specialists in hometown flavor — their advantages range more towards self-scanners, international aisles, and endless food choices. 

But before Shaw’s moved in, Milford did have a truly hometown grocery called Violette’s IGA. In February 1982, the Milford Cabinet detailed Violette’s “Grand Reopening,” as the Milford High School band and a cadre of employees marched down Elm Street to their new 20,000-square-foot store (tiny by today’s standards but then a big step up). The Violettes were Ron and Betty, who were valued members of Milford’s business community (Ron won the Chamber of Commerce “Citizen of the Year” in 1989) and enjoyed the near-universal affection of their employees. Indeed, the night before the 1982 kick-off, the staff held a party with more than 70 employees and their families celebrating the store's new digs. The next day, cars filled the Granite Town Plaza parking lot and backed up down the street, as workers cut a 50-foot violet ribbon and sported violet carnations. Throughout the 1980s, the three-generation family business was able to hold its own in the Milford grocery store scene.

In 1990, Ron and Betty retired and Keatherly Inc. took over — but not for long. Just three years later, missing the grocery business, the Violettes actually bought back the store, prompting another “Grand Reopening” in 1993. Unfortunately, when the giant Market Basket opened in West Milford two years later, sales immediately fell off at Violette’s by more than 50% and the store soon closed. Meat manager Dee Birkett summed up the loss of the hometown grocer: “People don’t realize all the things Violette has done for this town. He has gone down to fires at 3am (to provide refreshments to fire fighters), you’re not going to see Mr. Shaw or Mr. Demoulas doing that.”