Page 13 - BusinessWest December 12, 2022

integrity” are still very present.
ness for 150 years, its “bones and “There are a lot of flashbacks that come to my head
In with the New
As the town gears up for 2023, there is plenty of anticipation about when Maple Center will be rebuilt. The town is currently working with the own-
ers of the property on their rebuild- ing plans and are going through the hearing process soon, hopefully start- ing construction within the next few months.
Vallides told BusinessWest she has signed an intent to return with the landlord, but not an official lease yet. At the moment, the new floor plan for Armata’s is expected to be 3,000 feet larger than it was previously.
Right now, she is hard at work
“What you loved about it 30 years ago is still what you love about it; it still has those great bones, and that’s so important because sometimes, as communities or businesses grow, they grow so much that they lose sight of who they are and what their mission is. I feel [Bay Path] managed to hold onto that really well in Longmeadow.”
Out with the Old
Despite the tragic loss of Armata’s Market and a few other shops in Maple Center, store owner Alexis Val- lides is looking forward to a fresh start.
Armata’s Market was founded in 1963 by the Armata family and pur- chased by the Vallides family in the early 2000s. Vallides told BusinessWest that she knew running a business was something she always wanted to do.
“It’s in my blood. I’m fourth gen- eration in my family business,” she said, noting that her great-grandfa- ther immigrated from Greece and launched a career in the food indus- try. “After I graduated from college, I took a bigger role, and there’s just an opportunity to kind of slide in there.”
The small grocery store had expanded over the decade she had run it; it wasn’t just known for its meats anymore, but also deli foods, pre- pared hot and cold meals, and a from- scratch bakery.
“We were in a pretty good groove at that point, and people had caught on,” Vallides said. “And we had become pretty well-known. Anytime you would pull into our parking lot, you’d see half Connecticut plates and half Massachusetts plates. So I know we had a good following, and I feel like we definitely did impact the town of Longmeadow economically.”
The fire that tore through the plaza the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 2021 completely decimated Armata’s, the Bottle Shop, and Iron Chef. A hair and nail salon were also displaced after the tragedy. The fire’s origin is still listed as undetermined, and no report has been released by the state fire marshal’s office. The lead investigator has retired, and the town is still look- ing for a replacement.
“It had a massive impact on those neighborhoods there,” Simmons said. “Those people that just ran out to grab some milk or order dinner and pick it up quickly ... we saw a big impact just from people’s day-to-day lives, with the convenience of having those offer- ings there. And certainly there’s the impact to the people that worked in all of those businesses, especially at that time of year. It was really hard.”
However, through tragedy came resiliency and determination. Vallides and her team continued to provide turkey dinners, deliveries, and from- scratch baked goods that holiday sea- son. The people of Longmeadow ral- lied around them and are excited for their eventual return.
around this time, and Longmeadow was right there from the get-go. From the moment the fire happened, they were there with us every step of the way, and we’re just very lucky.”
“There are a lot of flashbacks that come to my head around this time, and Longmeadow was right there from the get-go,” she said. “From the
moment the fire happened, they were there with us every step of the way, and we’re just very lucky.”
BusinessWest
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
DECEMBER 12, 2022 13