Connecticut Commons — Attraction in Plainville

I was planning to spend the day at a nearby beach and wanted to pick up a few last minute items for my visit. The Connecticut Commons plaza had what I needed and was conveniently located. I visited the Dollar Tree and Big Y. Although it was about 8AM, both were open which I appreciated.

The plaza has a number of shops in an outdoor plaza setting with a large parking lot in the front. There is a unified look which gives it an upscale and clean feel. The nice greenery and well cared for lot made for a pleasant experience. I was wondering if this would come with a commensurate markup in price, but actually these shops were pretty comparable to my local shops. I noted that the Dollar Tree was very well stocked and more tidy that my local one.

While it's a pretty typical plaza anchored by a major chain grocery store Big Y, I was drawn by the convenience of the location. I probably wouldn't drive in from out of town to go there as such plazas abound closer to home, but if I were going to be in the area I might be enticed to do my weekly shopping there instead of my hometown on account of it seeming to have a nicer, greener than average parking lot and the well stocked, clean, nicely organized store. Figuring out how to get to the lot exit felt a bit like a maze, but I suppose one would get to know it better with more frequent visits.

Overall it's a nice shopping plaza. In the days of grocery delivery it seems some customers still prefer to shop in person, and in that regard this one has aesthetic appeal without price markup. If I lived in the area it's probably the one I'd use for my in person shopping. In this trip, it enhanced my shoreline day visit as I easily obtained the items on my list. I would recommend it to anyone else visiting the area looking to pick up some snacks, food for grilling, or your last minute sunscreen. For beach towels, sand chairs and beach clothing I'd recommend Ocean State Job Lot about 10 miles eastward on Rte 1 in Clinton. It's a great plaza that I'm likely to visit again for last minute items, or if I'm in the area to do my weekly shopping in a...

I'm sorry to say that twice I got bread from this grocery store Big Y and twice it had ants in it. The first time it had ants in it. I am blind close up so I did not see the ants until I got the product home and my daughter discovered them. I went to the manager and he seemed more aggravated at me for bringing the ants to his attention. Then he did at the fact that his bakery bread had ants in it. With that being said the second time I got bread that ended up having ants in it. I just threw it out and didn't bother bringing it back.. needless to say, I will never purchase anything in their bakery. There is one product that you really can't find anywhere else that I do enjoy buying in this store and that is their Canadian meat pies. Although this particular year, it seemed that they changed the brand of meat pies that they bought and they weren't as good as ones in the past. But still glad that...

This big Y is old and small. As a result, it doesn't offer a lot of the things some of the bigger stores offer. However, for the space they do have, they do a great job. They have a really good selection of organic items which is something I eat a lot of and at the same time they have a good supply of store brand items for those on a tighter budget. The store was very clean and the cashiers were very friendly. They had markers on the floor for distancing and had hand sanitizer throughout the store. It's unfortunate that there is no room in the plaza for them to expand into because they do lack a lot of features most other Big Y stores have, but as I said, they do a great job with what they have. Definitely a bit pricey, but it's worth it to have a clean store with well-mannered employees and a staff that is aware that covid is still a thing and is following guidelines to help...