NEWBURYPORT — For 12 years, Scott Munroe has eagerly headed to work.
While some experience days when they dread the morning ritual, Munroe said that's never been him.
After all, as owner of the White Hen Pantry on Pond Street, work is where all his friends are, Munroe said. He would be ready for the groups of customers who arrive each morning to get coffee or groceries. They would talk sports and catch up on news, he said.
On Monday, despite efforts by a citizens group aiming to keep the popular neighborhood store at its Pond Street location, Munroe will close the doors for the last time.
But Munroe said he has found a new site, where he and his wife will open their own independent convenience store. The Black Duck Market and Deli will open in June at the Tannery, where Annarosa's Bakery is now located. The bakery is relocating to Salisbury.
While it won't be open 24 hours, it will offer many of the same items and groceries that the White Hen carries, Munroe said. Their offerings are products their customers have asked for over the years, he said.
Many of his staff will make the move with him, Munroe said. While saddened that the White Hen is closing, customers are excited about the new store opening, despite the lapse of a few months.
"A lot can walk to the Tannery," he said.
Tannery owner David Hall has been supportive and pledged to start working on the space once it is vacated, Munroe added.
"He was very helpful," Munroe said.
When Munroe announced last summer that the White Hen in the Pond Street strip mall would close when the lease expires this month to allow for the second phase of the CVS expansion, public outcry was sharp.
The White Hen serves as a busy food market for many downtown Newburyporters, with a wide variety of food and necessities packed into its relatively small store. Newburyporters have long been used to shopping for food in that building, as it once was as an A&P food market.
A petition was drafted that asked the building owners, New England Development, and its Newburyport property managers, Ann and Chuck Lagasse, to review their decision to remove White Hen and to scale back the expansion of CVS. It collected thousands of signatures. Protests were set up in the plaza, and customers held signs urging for the halt of the CVS expansion.
Community meetings about the movement drew standing-room only crowds. Bumper stickers were sold, and websites were set up.
But as Munroe said yesterday, "It's done."
Past and present employees of the White Hen gathered for a goodbye party last night at The Grog. The store closed at 5 p.m. to allow everyone to attend.
As Munroe reflected on the events of the past year yesterday, he said he remains appreciative of the outpouring from the community.
"I was very surprised at the amount of support," he said. "It's really nice to see."
The public wants to shop at the little neighborhood stores, he said.
"There aren't many left; we're a dying breed," Munroe said.
Over the years, the White Hen, while a chain store, grew into much more than that.
"It's really a family operation," he said. "Everybody knows everybody. It's kind of like a meeting place."
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