Stop & Shop - Brighton, MA

Stop & Shop - 3.2

Growing up in the northeast, Stop & Shop is almost a way of life. Ok, perhaps that's overstating it, but Stop & Shop has been around for over 90 years now and has over 360 stores in the northeast. It was started in 1914 in Somerville under the name Economy Grocery Stores Company and took it's current moniker in 1946.


Location: By now i figure that most serious bathroom users know that supermarket restrooms are almost always located in a rear corner of the store. Most of the Stop & Shop stores in can think of have the bathrooms near the deli/seafood area and this one is no exception. There weren't a lot of signs, but if you know a grocery store layout, they're not really necessary.
Grade: 8 out of 10

Accessibility: Park the car, walk through the door and head to the back corner. Couldn't be easier. Nothing or no one will stop you and you can head in almost any time of the day.
Grade: 10 out of 10

Number of Stalls: They had two stalls and two urinals, so there was ample room to get down to business. Typical set up with one handicapped and one regular stall.
Grade: 7 out of 10

Stall Quality: The stall itself was pretty standard. The seat in the handicapped stall is a bit wobbly and is probably in need of replacement. The non handicapped stall was a typical smaller stall. There also was a coat hanger on the door as well.
Grade: 5 out of 10



Toiler Paper: Stop & Shop provides boring one-ply industrial rolls. It was well covered at least.
Grade: 4 out of 10

Cleanliness: The picture below says it all. It was worse than that looks.
Grade: 0 out of 10




Scent: You ever smell dry piss? You know, when someone pisses on the floor and it does not get cleaned? It smelled like that. Not cool.
Grade: 0 out of 10

Flush: The Shit Critic expects more from industrial toilets. This one was a bit weak, though they do provide you with a plunger.
Grade: 3 out of 10

Aesthetics: I don't expect much from the Stop & Shop bathroom. but in one of this millennium's great surprises, they've attempted to spruce things up by putting some 6 foot tall plant in the restroom. You can kind of see it in the picture above, behind the garbage.
Grade: 1 out of 10

Extra Credit:
Plunger: +1

The Bottom Line: If you're driving around and absolutely need to pop in somewhere, this should be on your back burner. Know that there is a big chance that the bathroom will:

A: Be a total mess.
B: Smell pretty damn bad.
C: Be generally disgusting.

I mean, really, how many employees does Stop & Shop have working in one store at any given time? Can't they have one guy check the bathroom once an hour?