Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn

New Supermarket Invites Lynn Residents to Stop & Compare

By Alena Kuzub | Daily Item | October 19, 2021

The North Shore Latino Business Association (NSLBA), state and city officials, and friends gathered to celebrate the official opening of a second family-owned Stop and Compare supermarket in the city with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday morning.

The new supermarket took over the space at 43 State St. which was previously occupied by a Shaw’s supermarket.

State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) congratulated the owner, Vivian Iannotti, on behalf of the state delegation. He said it was a very important location in downton Lynn where food access was vitall.

A large crowd of supporters, sponsors, local representatives and members of the North Shore Latino Business Association hold a ceremonial ribbon in front of the newly opened Stop and Compare in Lynn. (Jakob Menendez )

Rep. Peter Capano (D-Nahant) echoed Crighton, saying that grocery shopping was needed the most at that location.

Frances Martinez, president of the NSLBA, said that the association guided the owners in getting the support from the city needed to get a store open.

“We worked very closely. We knew there was a huge need in this area,” said Martinez.

She added that the supermarket is also very important for the Latino population, who made the decision to live in the U.S. but still miss some products from home.

The supermarket offers fresh produce and fresh meat on 25,000 sq. feet of property, said Iannotti.

The supermarket specializes in a wide selection of goods from tropical countries of Latin and South America and cuts of meat that are popular with individuals from those areas. It also has a full kitchen that serves both Latin and American food.

This is the second supermarket that Iannotti and her husband, Mark, own in Lynn and the third for their family in total. Iannotti’s mother, Betty Calvo, opened the very first Stop and Compare supermarket in Chelsea in 1996. The first store in Lynn opened on Adams Street in 2005 and is 12,000 square feet.

“It is the culmination of everything!” said Iannotti about the new store.

The company hired 45 new people and transferred some of the employees from their other locations.

“Creating three teams out of two wasn’t easy,” said Mark Iannotti. He said some people were sad to move to a different store, but they did what was in the best interest of the team and the company as a whole.

Mark said that they were approached by the owners of the property in the middle of the pandemic.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said. “The supply chain was broken.”

However, they decided to proceed with the project, signing a contract in July, 2020. The supermarket had a soft opening on September 11 of this year.

Mark Iannotti said that NSLBA and the EDIC have been very helpful.

“They’ve been pretty integral in our development and growth,” said Mark Iannotti. “We go to them whenever we have a question like ‘who do we go to in the city?’”

The Iannottis live in Swampscott, but their children go to St. Mary’s School in Lynn.

“We have a very close connection to Lynn,” said Mark.

Alena Kuzub can be reached at akuzub@itemlive.com.

Back to News