CVS scraps plans for Nantucket

There once was a man from Nantucket, who opposed CVS so much it said ... forget it.

Greg Hinson, a family doctor, photographer and 12-year island resident, started an online petition that prompted the pharmacy giant to scrap plans to replace a supermarket in the summer playground where large retail chains are banned.

"There was a big cheer," Hinson said yesterday, hours after residents and business owners packed into a special afternoon town meeting called for "discussion regarding an in-town grocery store."

But before anyone made a peep, a CVS lawyer waved the white flag. The operator of 7,400 stores nationwide, including 356 in Massachusetts, would not try to expand its pharmacy empire into Nantucket.

CVS wanted to take over the Grand Union supermarket that recently closed, leaving Stop & Shop as the lone grocer on the island. Supermarkets are exempt from the town's 6-year-old chain-banning bylaw, a loophole CVS presumably would've exploited with its broad product selection.

"We have decided to support the community's desire to secure a grocery store for downtown Nantucket. In that spirit, CVS will work cooperatively with the property owner to find an appropriate tenant," said CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis.

Boston-based Winthrop Management, which manages the property for a realty trust, declined comment.

A proud Hinson said he collected 4,533 signatures on his Change.org petition that declared, "We will NOT shop at a CVS on Nantucket." Many were defending the island's three local pharmacies, including one that Hinson called a "classic Currier and Ives drugstore" with a soda fountain and lunch counter.

Facing the specter of CVS, some downtown business owners temporarily closed up shop to go to yesterday's meeting, leaving notes on doors apologizing for their absence. Board of Selectmen chairwoman Patty Roggeveen said Nantucket leaders were prepared to go to court to defend the town's bylaw that bans "formula businesses" that have 14 or more stores.

We would've been holding fast to a certain line in the sand that certainly would've made it difficult for CVS to open," she said. "We really support the local economy and we'd like to keep that character here."

Now residents may get what they wished for. Another bidder for the Grand Union space was Don Mignosa, owner of Fruit Center Marketplace, an upscale grocer with stores in Milton and Hingham.

"This would be an excellent location," said spokesman Michael Dwyer. "He's passionate about the island and would love to expand his business there."

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