2018 HAL Voyage of the Vikings
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Whenever we take a long cruise, it is helpful to shop for toiletries and snacks before boarding. We usually use 12”x 12”x 10 1/2” boxes to transport these items to the dock. However, when we are flying, this does not work as size and weight restrictions apply. So, we arrive early at the embarkation port and do our shopping locally.
We discovered Market Basket Supermarket near our hotel (the largest in the chain at 135,000 square feet). Wonderful find! This is a chain rated by Consumer Reports in 2017 as the 2nd best supermarket in America. Just behind Wegman’s which remains my utmost favorite market ever! But I digress.
Market Basket began in 1917 as a neighborhood grocery store in Lowell, Massachusetts. Begun by Greek immigrants Athanasios (Arthur) and Efrosini Demoulas, the store grew and prospered under the management of Arthur and his sons, Telemachus (Mike) and George. They transformed the mom-and-pop store into a supermarket chain that today consists of 79 stores.
We were surprised to find that there are no self-checkout lanes in a Market Basket store. The current company president, Arthur T. Demoulas states he wants “…a human being waiting on a human being.” The stores have earned a reputation for quality at affordable prices!
Once the shopping was done, we went off to enjoy lunch and sightseeing in the city. That is the next blog-post.
RovingRaconteurs.com 