1970s and 1980s

The era of Anderson Market as a grocery store came to an end in the summer of 1978. Ken Anderson remembers the last day: Dave Anderson had cleaned out the store and put cardboard over the front windows and doors. He brought out hors d’oeuvres, filled the coolers with beer, and hired Sleepy LaBeef and his band to play out the Anderson Market era to their rockabilly tunes. Hearing the festivities inside, a town official arrived at the door and asked Dave if he had obtained a permit to have such a party.

Anderson Market as a business was gone, but the building remained in family hands. In March 1979 the Old Colony Bank moved into the space, and beginning in 1983 it was occupied by Hunneman & Company, a real estate agency. From 1979 to 1986, Ken Anderson had his pension/actuarial business here.

By this time, supermarkets were crowding out local, family-owned markets. The business climate on the Mill Dam was changing in favor of boutiques and specialty stores. After so many years as a thriving business, the market became part of Concord’s history. Still, the Anderson family maintained possession of the building and continued the catering arm of the business that had been started by Dave Anderson.

This image was taken by Bill Anderson, Leslie and Esther Anderson’s grandson and son of Bill Anderson, founder of Anderson Photo. It shows the market building being spruced up for the 1975 bicentennial anniversary celebration of April 19, 1775.