GARDINER — A little more than three months after floodwaters washed through downtown Gardiner and devastated many businesses, Hannaford Supermarkets announced Wednesday its store here will reopen next week.

The opening date has been set for 7 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27. Earlier this year, store officials had targeted April for a reopening date.

In a statement, Rob Meader, store manager of the Gardiner Hannaford, thanked the Gardiner community for its patience, understanding and loyalty while workers cleared the debris and prepared the store for reopening.

“Reopening the store this quickly would not have been possible without the unwavering support of the many associates and community members who contributed to the effort, including the tremendous partnership of the city of Gardiner,” Meader said. “We very much look forward to welcoming customers back to the store.”

The supermarket was only one of the businesses that closed in the wake of historic flooding along the Kennebec River caused by a powerful storm that also brought widespread power outages just days before Christmas.

From Waterville to Gardiner, flood waters inundated low-lying areas in waterfront downtowns, filling basements and storefronts, covering streets and submerging parked cars.

Some businesses, like Monkitree and the Table Bar in Gardiner were able to keep their doors open, even without power or heat in the aftermath of the storm that arrived in central Maine on Dec. 17 and continued through the next day.

The storm knocked out power to large swaths of Maine, and for the four or five days following the storm, most business were closed because of the power outage and to clean up any storm damage, said Melissa Lindley, economic development director for the city of Gardiner.

Others stayed closed until after the holidays, Lindley said, while others were not so lucky.

Floodwaters filled Hannaford’s Gardiner store, which sits near the confluence of Cobbosseecontee Stream and the Kennebec River, causing considerable damage to the store, which also houses a pharmacy.

When the temporary closure started, the Scarborough-based supermarket chain offered spots at other stores to their associates, and urged shoppers to visit other Hannaford supermarkets in the area. Some did; others crossed the Kennebec to shop at Goggin’s IGA.

Following the closure, associates were paid for their scheduled hours while the condition of the store was assessed. They were then offered the opportunity to work in neighboring stores until the Gardiner store reopened.

They are now being offered the chance to return to Gardiner.

To speed up the reopening date, temporary cases and shelving will be in service that will be replaced with permanent fixtures in the coming months. To help with customer convenience, nine more self-checkout stations will be added to the two that existed, bringing the total to 11.

Company spokeswoman Ericka Dodge said the Gardiner store was last remodeled in 2017.

Gardiner City Manager Andrew Carlton said the city is happy the supermarket is reopening.

“Hannaford plays an important role in the city and we are certainly elated to have Hannaford continue its long history herein the Gardiner downtown,” Carlton said in a prepared statement. “Here at the city, we remain steadfast in our commitment to support the resiliency of our businesses and residents.”

To celebrate its reopening, Hannaford is donating $2,500 each in gift cards to Faith Food Pantry and Gardiner Food Pantry. Both serve the Gardiner community.

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