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Business & Tech

New Store Coming to Humphrey Street

Beach Bluff Market on Humphrey Street will offer hand-scooped ice cream, fruits and vegetables and other daily essentials.

Marblehead residents may soon have a brand new convenience store on Humphrey Street where customers can pick up hand-scooped ice cream, fruits and vegetables and other daily essentials.

Despite objections from several immediate neighbors, the zoning board approved plans to renovate an old delicatessen on Humphrey Street. The Beach Bluff Market, a convenience store, will operate where it once stood from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

The store, which had 10 tables and 40 chairs, will offer more traditional grocery store items, including fresh vegetables and fruits, and reduce the seating to six tables and 18 chairs.

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The neighbors objected mostly by emails to extending the current operating hours that requires that the former deli close earlier during the week and at 2 p.m. on the weekends.

Keith Ray, the only neighbor who appeared in person to protest the change in operations, said the new convenience store will “have an adverse effect on the neighborhood.” He complained that the store will increase traffic, noise and litter.

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Two neighbors appeared before the board to say they think the new store will be an asset to the community.

Attorney Carl King, representing the new owners, said having a vacant store at this location would be much more detrimental to the neighborhood. And he said if the hours of operation are now extended to "normal business hours" for a grocery store, the space would remain vacant.

The new owners, led by Dildar Hussain, already operate six other convenience stores in neighboring communities. Several of those stores also have gas pumps. But the Beach Bluff Market will not sell gas or alcohol. A liquor store is adjacent to the market in a row of stores that includes a credit union and a cleaners.

To pacify the neighbors' concerns, the new owners agreed in advance of the meeting to cut three hours off the time the store will be open. Initially they had proposed opening at 6 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m. King told the board they also agreed to limit dumpster pickup and deliveries to morning and afternoon hours. And they agreed to have store employees pick up trash on both sides of Humphrey Street at the end of each day.

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