provisioning in Stamford Conn.

[stm]

I will be sailing down the coast from Maine to Annapolis in a few weeks. I will be stopping overnight at Brewers Yacht Haven in Stamford Ct. Does anyone know of a good grocery store near the marina I could use to reprovision for a hungry crew going south. Perhaps a deli or restaurant that might be willing to help would work. Any local knowledge would be appreciated. The marina suggested the 7-11 down the street, and that just won't work.

[CalebD]

I guess you don't like 1 foot long hot dogs and slurpies? Neither do I. Very little that 7-11 sells actually qualifies as food in my book. They do sell expensive beer and carry special fast melting ice though.
Seriously though, I am not local enough to comment on Stamford and hopefully some CT denizens will chime in here. If you are going the Brewer's route I will assume you have some reciprocity agreement with them. They have a number of different locations on both sides of the Sound that may have easier access to a supermarket. Manhassett has a Brewer's and there is a 'King Kullen' or other supermarket within walking distance as well as West Marine.
Really, they suggested you reprovision your boat at the 7-11? They must think you like Dinty Moore beef stew and lots of sugary foods. I do like Doritos now and then but would not call that 'food' either.
Hope others reply with more specifics.

[stm]

I am going to Brewers only because I am dropping off some of the crew, and picking up replacements. It's close to the train station.

[fparry]

I don't know any grocery stores but Buster's BBQ is one of the best on the East Coast.

[SVAuspicious]

Unless someone pops up with better local knowledge go to maps.google.com and type "groceries near stamford ct" in the search box. Lots of returns.

[hellosailor]

Auspicious nailed it.

And if you don't have live internet access, see if someone can promote a Garmin Nuvi or similar car navigator, often they have millions of "Points of Interest" loaded in them. I told mine to search for "West Marine" and found out it apparently has THE ENTIRE CHAIN tucked away in there. Better than the Yellow Pages for finding restaurants, too!

[danielgoldberg]

There is Brewer's in Mamaroneck, and the town also maintains a float. Likewise, there's Nichols Yacht Yard and McMichael's Rushmore Yard. Your options depend on the size of your boat. I mention Mamaroneck because it's only 10 miles or so west of Stamford, it's walking distance to the same train line that Stamford is on, and you can provision quite easily. There are several supermarkets that are either longish walks or very short cab rides from the harbor (and if the timing is right I'd be willing to give you a ride, but I'm actually swamped at work at the moment, so that might be a little hard to work the logistics, if you lack flexibility). There's also a host of restaurants, marine supply, and similar stuff. The knock on Mamaroneck as a destination is that there aren't that many places to stay as a transient, but this time of year you shouldn't have a problem finding a spot.

Port Washington (Manhassett) as Caleb mentioned also would be an excellent choice for provisioning and easy access, and there are far more options for transient space, not to mention that the harbor itself is a great anchorage. The trick there might be your crew exchange. The train line is the Long Island Railroad, as opposed to Metro North. So, if your crew is coming from Long Island or NYC, then it's great. If from Westchester, Connecticut and/or points farther east, then not so much.

Bon chance!

[stm]

Dan, thanks for the information, but my plans are set. I have a reservation at Brewers in stamford. We made them there because of the closeness of the marina to the train station so my crew from Annapolis can easily get to the boat, and the crew from Portland Maine can easily get home. So I am simply looking for a good, high end grocery store, or deli/restaurant, that I can call ahead of time so they can provide me with some dinners, and other items.

[Minnewaska]

Unfortunately, I think Stamford may not have been the best choice. It is a very large city, generally with either office parks that have no grocery stores or tougher immigrant neighborhoods. Some nice area too, but more like yuppie condos in the middle of the office parks. They basically eat at Starbucks.

Just call a cab and ask the driver to take you to the nearest real grocery store and wait. I think that is going to be a hike and you'll pay for it. Otherwise, I would suggest doing a google search for a catering company in Stamford. There will be dozens of them that serve the office parks. Have them ready to provision your boat for you on the exact day you arrive.

[hellosailor]

I think Stamford never recovered from going boom in the 80's and then BUST in the bust of the 80's.

grocery stores - Google Maps

Still, there are bodegas and groceries and a Food Mart all within a mile, up closer to I95. Surely the marina staff have been asked "Where can we provision?" more than once before?