Revere hungers for an open Market

REVERE ? The shelves had already been bare at the Squire Road Market Basket for about a year before a worker walkout in June kept shelves empty at the supermarket franchise’s other locations.But Sunday, the Revere Market Basket will be stocked and the doors will be opened to customers.?It has been a long, hard road to get our own Revere Market Basket open for our residents, but I’m sure it will all be worth the wait,” Revere Mayor Daniel Rizzo said this week.Market Basket Chief Executive Officer Arthur T. Demoulas was fired in June by a board controlled by his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas. Employees of the supermarket chain walked off their jobs in protest, and hundreds of warehouse workers and drivers refused to deliver fresh produce to the chain’s 71 stores, leaving shelves depleted.Customers soon began shopping elsewhere; some because they could not find fresh food at Market Basket, while others stayed away to show support for the workers and Arthur T. Demoulas. The usually crowded stores turned into ghost towns, with only a trickle of customers.The chain’s owners finally signed off on a plan Aug. 27 to sell the majority of the company’s shares to Arthur T. for a reported financing package of $1.5 billion, including cash and a $500 million loan from a private equity firm.The chain, known for its low prices, lost tens of millions of dollars during the standoff. The dispute also put plans for new locations in Revere and Lynn in limbo.But in Arthur T.’s first visit to a Chelsea store after the sale, he told reporters that he planned to open the store in Revere and another unspecified location before 2015. Rizzo had told The Daily Item he expected the Squire Road location to be open by the holidays, saying the company had not begun the hiring process for an estimated 400 employees.He was about two months off, as the store is officially opening Sunday and a ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m. at which Market Basket, local and state elected officials and members of the business community will be in attendance.Rizzo said he believed the supermarket opening would be “a catalyst” for other development in the Northgate area.?This opening and other planned openings and groundbreakings across the city are consistent with our goal of making Revere a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Rizzo said.