At 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, the doors opened at 200 Leavenworth Road. It was a day later than planned because a storm had delayed the final deliveries. The new store's Facebook page had put it simply the day before, as Patch reported: "We appreciate the community's enthusiasm as it was a long wait."

The Market by Key Food has now been open for nearly a month. During the year this storefront sat dark, a full grocery run from White Hills meant driving to Bridgeport Avenue. That stretch is where the Connecticut Post places ShopRite, Big Y and Stop & Shop, and Trader Joe's joined them in early December 2025. That's no longer necessary. With the anchor store back, the north end's shopping center lines up with the farm stores up the road, and together they cover the stretch from now to Christmas Eve.

Almost a year with the lights off

Here is the timeline:

1. October 1, 2025. Two outlets reported the same day that Adams Hometown Market at 200 Leavenworth Road would close. A store employee gave the Connecticut Post a closing date of October 11. A Bozzuto's spokesperson told Patch the store was planned to close on about October 10. Bozzuto's is the Cheshire-based wholesale food distributor that owns the Adams chain, and the Shelton store had last been remodeled in 2018.
2. January 2, 2026. Mayor Mark Lauretti told the Connecticut Post that Key Food would move into the 15,000-square-foot space in White Hills Plaza sometime in 2026. He said he wasn't sure when it would open.
3. September 30, 2026. The store announced a soft opening for the next morning and explained that storm-delayed deliveries had pushed it back one day.
4. October 1, 2026. Doors opened at 10 a.m.

From Adams' last day to Key Food's first was about 355 days, a little under a year. For that whole time, the 15,000 square feet at the center of the White Hills Shopping Center held no groceries.

What moved into the Adams space

The new tenant is The Market by Key Food. The Connecticut Scoop describes it as a newer concept from the chain, aimed at a more local feel, and says the space was thoroughly renovated after Adams closed. The Connecticut Post explains that Key Food itself is a New Jersey-based cooperative of independently owned grocery stores, with more than 450 stores in eight states operating as Key Food, Food Emporium and Superfresh.

Inside are the usual full-service departments: produce, fresh meat, deli, floral, bakery, prepared foods and grab-and-go meals. The store also has a free club savings card. Shoppers can use it to clip coupons, browse the weekly circular and build a shopping list. The store's page on the Key Food site posts the weekly circular, and the one running now is valid through Thursday, October 29.

The hours matter most to a north-end household. The store is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. That's long enough for a commuter to pick up a forgotten ingredient on Leavenworth Road on the way home instead of making a separate trip to Bridgeport Avenue.

The coffee shop came first

The supermarket wasn't the plaza's first new business this year. White Hills Coffee & Deli opened at 202B Leavenworth Road in the spring, while the grocery space next door was still empty. According to the News-Times, it held its grand opening on August 2.

The menu covers two kinds of coffee drinker. There's small-batch, single-origin coffee, and there's a list of sweet specialty drinks such as maple donut cold brew, bananas foster cold brew, Nutella mocha and an iced cinnamon roll latte. Breakfast and lunch include egg and cheese sandwiches, bagels, croissants, doughnuts, scones, deli subs and paninis. The café's posted 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.

Every morning of the week, the deli and the grocery store open at the same hour. A Saturday at 7 a.m. can start with a breakfast sandwich at 202B and continue with the weekly shop next door. Vitality, a fitness and wellness business that lists its location as the White Hills Shopping Center, rounds out the plaza.

The plaza and the orchard sell some of the same bottles

The plaza connects to the farms in a literal way. Beardsley's Cider Mill & Orchard, which describes its farm as part of Shelton's White Hills section, makes White Hills Distillery spirits. Beardsley's sells them in its own farm store and at White Hills Wine & Spirit, along with the four Kindred Spirit Shops and the two GlenRo Spirit Shoppes in Shelton and Monroe. White Hills Wine & Spirits is listed at 206 Leavenworth Road, a few doors up from the grocery store.

The orchard's season has changed this month. Pick-your-own apples are closed, but the farm store stays open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until it closes for the season at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The cider is 100% pure juice, made from sound, ripe apples that are blemished or too small to sell by the bag, and it takes about 25 average-size apples to press one gallon. Pies and cider donuts come out of the bakery.

Key Food covers milk, meat and Tuesday-night dinner. Beardsley's covers the gallon of cider and the pie for Thanksgiving, and its spirits are also on the shelf at the liquor store a few doors from the supermarket.

Jones Family Farms carries the calendar into December

Jones Family Farms is the other half of White Hills' late-fall schedule. Its winery and tree farm are at 606 Walnut Tree Hill Road, and its pumpkin patch, Pumpkinseed Hill, is at 120 Beardsley Road.

Pumpkin season is in its last few days as this post goes up. According to the farm's pumpkin update, Pumpkinseed Hill is open daily through Friday, October 30. On Halloween, Saturday, October 31, it's open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and visitors should arrive by 3 p.m. The farm is also offering seven pumpkins or specialty squash for $60. The farm's homepage lists a Sip & Stroll on Thursday, October 29. The winery is open noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It's closed Monday through Wednesday.

Christmas trees come next. The farm describes its tree season as running from the weekend before Thanksgiving through December 23, open daily 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It closes on Thanksgiving and at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Thanksgiving is November 26 this year. The farm's visit-planning page says reservations are required for the three-day Thanksgiving weekend and the first weekend of December, and that they're posted in early November. Those weekends are worth watching for. Families can cut their own tree or choose a fresh-cut one, and the Barnyard Village serves farm-made cookies, warm cider and local cheese and crackers.

The north-end week, side by side

Here are the hours and dates in one place, for the weeks between now and Christmas Eve:

One December date takes you out of the north end. Celebrate Shelton holds its 13th Annual Community Tree Lighting and Holiday Market on Friday, December 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Rotary Pavilion at Veterans Memorial Park. The tree is lit at 6:30 p.m., and Santa and Mrs. Claus are expected.

If you're thinking about what your White Hills home might be worth now that the plaza's anchor store is back, Fowler & Sakey can start your move with a free home valuation built on what's actually happening on your road.