ANSONIA – The former Stop & Shop property on Division Street has a new owner, but officials said there probably won’t be a new tenant in the space until 2028.

Michael Berkowitz, of Fairfield, purchased the 9-acre plaza at 100-172 Division Street for $8.3 million on Oct. 19, according to a press release and city land records.

The purchase includes the small strip mall on the North Division Street side of the property, home to stores including Ansonia Wine & Liquor, Moon Star Restaurant and CT Braces.

Berkowitz met with city officials Oct. 28. Following that meeting, Mayor Frank Tyszka said it will take until January 2028 for new development to start because Stop & Shop has a lease on the building until then.

“I’d love to see another smaller grocery store in there, like a Trader Joe’s,” Tyszka said.

The Stop & Shop closed in 2024, leaving Ansonia without a grocery store (though there is a ShopRite in Derby on Pershing Drive less than half-a-mile away). 

Since then, Key Food has said it will open a grocery store in downtown Ansonia, in the former Big Y plaza on Main Street. An opening date has not been announced.

Pershing Drive could use a new supermarket, according to three shoppers and a store manager The Valley Indy spoke with Oct. 28. 

“They’ve been closed for so long, at this point, why not anything else?” said Dave Chauhan, the manager and owner of Ansonia Wine & Liquor.

Chauhan said he’s noticed a decrease in foot traffic since the plaza’s anchor store closed. He said adding a new anchor store would fix that.

“A supermarket would be great, of course, because that’s what it was there, and it also helps our business with a supermarket,” Chauhan said. “But at this point, anything is better than having a closed building.”

One woman, who asked not to be named, said she used to drop by Stop & Shop on her way home from work. She said she’d like to have more options to choose from again when it comes to groceries.

“Another grocery store would be great to pick from,” she said.

Another shopper suggested a Spanish-focused grocery store, like the recently opened Tu Marqueta store in Seymour.

Berkowitz, the new owner, is a commercial real estate developer whose past developments include the Big Y plaza on Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton and an Aldi plaza in Fairfield. 

His family is also known for founding the Duchess chain of restaurants, which includes a Pershing Drive location around the corner from the former Stop & Shop.

“They know a little bit of the history of the town,” Tyszka said of the Berkowitzes.

The Valley Indy attempted to reach Berkowitz for comment Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 but did not hear back.

Jason St. Jacques, a member of the city’s economic development commission, echoed sentiments from the plaza’s shoppers and said he’s happy to see the property was bought.

“I’m glad it was sold and that it’s back on the front page to get something in there, and it’s not just being forgotten about and stagnant,” St. Jacques said.

The plaza’s former owners, RGMZ Ansonia Landing LLC, originally purchased the property in 2022 for $14 million, according to city land records.