The owner of seven A&P Supermarkets in Connecticut is selling the stores - including one in Mystic and another in Old Lyme - to Big Y Foods, Inc., which won't decide until later this year which stores to convert into World Class Markets.

"Everybody's talking about it," said Christie Cafaro of Gales Ferry, a cashier at the Mystic A&P who is working two jobs to make ends meet and planning to move into a new apartment next week.

"I was in shock when I found out," Cafaro said after her shift ended Thursday. "I knew a few stores were closing, but I didn't know we'd get bought out."

Shoppers also said they love the location of the Mystic and Old Lyme stores and would hate to see them close.

"I shop at both stores," said Lynne McPherson of Stonington, speaking of the Big Y in Groton while shopping at the A&P on the Stonington side of Mystic, where she was buying food for a camping trip. "It would be horrible if they don't reopen this one. This is just convenient."

Old Lyme resident Rosemary Gargano said she was sad to see the A&P go since she shops there practically daily.

"It's small," she said. "It's easy to get around. Good food, good fish. … Everything here is something that you would want."

The other stores slated to shut down Nov. 1 but potentially reopen later under Big Y management include A&Ps in Middletown, East Haven, West Hartford, Branford and Naugatuck. Big Y is based in Springfield, Mass.

Hundreds of jobs at risk

In August, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., which owns the A&Ps, announced it would close its Berlin store, laying off 82 workers. At the seven stores named late Wednesday, more than 600 jobs are at risk, according to the state Department of Labor, though Big Y said it would interview A&P employees for Big Y jobs.

Charles L. D'Amour, Big Y president and chief operating officer, said in a prepared statement that the company would decide after the acquisition is complete at the end of October and an evaluation is conducted which stores to keep open and redesign as Big Y supermarkets.

After the "short" evaluation period, Big Y expects to reopen a number of stores, closing them briefly in order to make minor renovations. All pharmacies will remain open during the transition period, the company said.

"The acquisition of these stores provides an opportunity for Big Y to move into some key locations that make it a natural fit for Big Y by filling in holes within our existing markets," D'Amour said. "And, despite the troubling economy, we are especially excited about providing our employees with opportunities as we grow within our home markets."

In Old Lyme, First Selectman Timothy Griswold said that while the departure of A&P was distressing, news that a Big Y planned to move in was heartening.

"If we don't have a grocery store here, we have to go to Saybrook or East Lyme," Griswold said. "It would be very important to us that we have a grocery store here and not have to go to a little minimart or something."

Inside the store it was business as usual, but shoppers and employees alike chatted about the closing. Part-time clerk Tina Robarge of Groton, who has worked for the supermarket chain since she was 16, said employees learned of the planned closure Tuesday night and got corporate confirmation Wednesday.

Unsure what to expect

Other than knowing they'll have their jobs until Oct. 30, the unionized employees said they didn't know what to expect, Robarge said. Big Y does not have unions, and employees don't know whether they'll be given the opportunity to interview for jobs there, she said. She has a long history with the company - her father was an assistant manager of an A&P store in his time, and her sister works at the A&P in Mystic, she said.

"It makes me sick to my stomach," Robarge said of having to work despite the planned closure. "(But) you gotta do what you gotta do because I still have five weeks of pay."

Mark Hamstra, a retail and financial editor for the New York City-based Supermarket News, said it's not unusual for a chain to buy several stores in a market and only continue operating a portion of them. Supermarket News is a national weekly trade publication servicing the chain and independent supermarket industry.

"It varies by individual location," Hamstra said. "Big Y, I'm sure, will be looking at these individual stores first of all to see how close they are to existing Big Y stores. The other consideration Big Y will take into account is the competitive activity in the area. Unfortunately, Big Y has to look at the bottom line. There could be a lot of shoppers that love the store, but if the math doesn't work, Big Y cannot continue operating them."

Neither company released terms of the agreement.

In selling its Connecticut stores, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, which is headquartered in Montvale, N.J., said the sale of the stores is part of the company's "comprehensive turnaround strategy" initiated earlier this summer.

'Outside of core markets'

"These seven stores were clearly outside of our core markets and their sale was necessary," Sam Martin, president and chief executive officer of A&P, said in a statement. "The company faces many difficult decisions over the next several months which are required to strengthen our foundation and improve our performance going forward."

Martin added that executives "remain mindful of the impact" on employees and thanked them "for all of their hard work and dedication over the years."

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has 429 stores in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, including A&P, Waldbaum's, The Food Emporium, Super Fresh, Pathmark and Food Basics, according to its website.

E-mailed questions about whether the seven stores were being sold because they were underperforming, struggling in competitive markets or for other reasons went unanswered Thursday.

"A&P overall has not been doing well," Hamstra said.

Big Y, on the other hand, is a family owned and operated regional business with a strong array of services, he said. It has 25 stores in Connecticut already, including one in Groton and one in Norwich. A Waterford Big Y closed and was ultimately replaced with an Ocean State Job Lot store.

"One thing people can look forward to is Big Y operates very nice stores," Hamstra said. "They have a reputation for running nice supermarkets."

Stonington First Selectman Ed Haberek said tourists and residents alike flock to the Mystic A&P.

"It would be concerning if they were to close that store because I think it's an integral store for the village," Haberek said of the Mystic supermarket. "I look forward to hearing more about the anticipated plans of Big Y and which stores they're going to be working with."

Big Y said all existing A&P Supermarket employees would be given an opportunity at job fairs to be interviewed for work at Big Y. Applications will be accepted via their web site at www.bigy.com, the company added.