Vicente’s opens doors to huge throng of happy customers

BROCKTON – Theresa McGadden anxiously waited in line minutes before the doors to Vicente’s Tropical Supermarket opened Thursday.

“They’ve got awesome, awesome stuff,” said McGadden, 60, of Brockton. “I cook a lot of Spanish food. I’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting for this.”

She was among hundreds of people who were the first customers of Vicente’s Thursday morning, when owner Manuel Vicente opened his second Brockton supermarket at 160 Pleasant St.

“This is a big day for me,” Vicente said as he greeted customers as they walked into his supermarket. “It’s a happy day, after I see all the community coming in to support us. We feel good.”

Angela Goncalves, who works as a customer service representative for Vicente’s, is among roughly 140 employees who worked day and night to prepare for Thursday’s opening.

“The way people are coming in, clapping, really excited, really seeing how beautiful the store is, I think all the hard work is going to pay off,” said Goncalves, 20, of Brockton.

The new, $14.5 million supermarket offers a selection of international foods, including Cape Verdean, Haitian, African, Ecuadorian and Portuguese, as well as mainstream grocery items.

The 32,000-square-foot supermarket has a modern dining area and produce, meat, deli, fresh seafood and bakery departments; a beer and wine section and a prepared foods section. There is a large Churrasco grill and kitchen area, where food including steak, ribs and chicken is prepared for customers.

Standing near the checkout area, Mayor Bill Carpenter praised the Vicente family for investing their business in Brockton.

“It’s the American dream, but it’s the Brockton dream, an immigrant family that came to Brockton and by working hard, has built great success,” Carpenter said.

Manuel Vicente first opened a small grocery store in Brockton 21 years ago. The specialty grocer has since grown into a thriving, full-service supermarket. The store at 689 Main St., with 105 employees, will remain in business, officials said.

Customers on Thursday were seen shopping throughout the supermarket, including in the produce, meat and seafood departments.

“Nice fish. I like this one, the salmon,” said Manuel Nunes, 64, of Brockton, as he shopped in the seafood department. “I like it. (The supermarket is) beautiful, a lot of stuff.”

Paula Andrade of Brockton took photographs with her cell phone of the various departments throughout the store to show to her daughter, she said.

“This is a nice opportunity for Brockton. They brought jobs here,” said Andrade, 53.

Several customers said the new supermarket at Pleasant Street and Warren Avenue will revitalize a long-blighted corner of Brockton, vacant for most of the past 20 years.

“It’s nice to get rid of the eyesore that was here for so long,” said Donna Dougherty, 61, of Brockton. “It was horrible, walking by and seeing what was a mess. I think this is wonderful.”

Mary Reid of Brockton brought her friend, Estella McLeod, who is visiting from Georgia, to see the new supermarket. Reid shopped for produce Thursday.

“I’m excited,” said Reid, 71. “They have all kinds of food, a lot of vegetables.”