Every summer, I, along with family and a couple of close friends, take a week off from life and travel to a small village in Vermont known as Island Pond. It is a small, but quaint area. We usually stay a week in late July, or June, and camp out both at our family owned property on a smaller mountain, or we stay at the Brighton State Park in Brighton, which borders Island Pond. The village center is compact but you will pretty much find everything you need. There are no big box stores, like Walmart or Sears, around for miles. However, there are a few recognizable businesses like ACE Hardware, The Dollar General, and Irving which adequately provide for the residents and us, or tourists, as well. There are a few things that make this village stand out, other than quirky restaurants and clothing shops, which we are drawn to every year. One of which, in particular, is the huge pond that the town surrounds, which has a small island somewhat near the center. Can you guess the name of this body of water? Well, if you guessed Island Pond, you are absolutely correct.

Yes, we love the beautiful scenery and tiny town atmosphere we get when we vacation up here, but there is one thing that my family, friends, and I look forward to most every year that we come up, and that is grabbing a bite of some delicious subs from Ted's Market.

Ted's Market was a small family owned market-market place and delicatessen which was first opened back in 1947. Since then, it has thrived and was a staple to the community and well known by many peoples, especially those in the snowmobile community, since Vermont has miles of established routes and a few of them happen to run through the town. To say the least, the food was absolutely fantastic, as well as the service. They always blended together the perfect amount of mayo, other various toppings, and specialty meats to create the best sandwich in the North East Kingdom. Not to mention, their prices on sandwiches and groceries were pretty cheap compared to other places around the area, as well as back here in Massachusetts. Though, last year, when we had arrived to Island Pond, we were both shocked and overly saddened to find out that Ted's Market had shut their doors permanently.

The closing of the store still leaves us heartbroken and a bit somber, especially after this year's vacation. Not surprisingly, mutual feelings were felt across the area and was even discussed on a handful of on-line forums, mostly relating to snowmobiling, to iterate a previous statement.

On a weather statement posted on NEKWX.com the poster, at the end, briefly talked about the market closing.

"I’ll end this post with a bit of sad news from here in Island Pond. Ted’s Market closed its doors yesterday. I was shocked to find out when I went in yesterday and found the place packed with people buying loads of groceries at 50% off. They always seemed busy to me and everyone there went out of their way to be helpful. Very sad to see "

Island Pond is still quite a fantastic vacation spot. You are close to many attractions, like Smuggler's Notch, and there are plenty of trails to hike, places to swim, fish, and eat. Unfortunately, for us and those who live in the area or have visited the village frequently throughout the years, Island Pond is just not the same without Ted's Market.