WINTHROP – Hannaford Supermarkets is buying Mister Market, an independent Winthrop grocer, and plans a significant expansion at its Squire Plaza site.

Owner Daren Hachey called it “a bittersweet decision.” The store has been owned by his family since the 1980s, when his parents, Ron and Bette Hachey, purchased it along with a now-closed Mister Market in Augusta. Ron Hachey managed the Winthrop store for years before buying them.

“As you can imagine, we’re very close to our employees,” Daren Hachey said Wednesday night. “The employees made my decision most difficult.”

Eighty people work there. All can apply to Hannaford for jobs, he noted, but there’s no promise they’ll all be hired.

Hannaford plans to raze the existing store and construct a 36,000-square-foot supermarket behind the site of the current building, Hachey explained. Hachey wouldn’t disclose the deal’s value.

He said, however, that the move should benefit his customers and his town. Besides a larger supermarket with expanded offerings in natural foods and other goods, the new store will feature a pharmacy.

“It’s a good fit for the town,” Hachey said.

Mister Market has been carrying Hannaford products for the past 10 years, so customers are already familiar with the offerings.

Hannaford operates a regional distribution facility just down Route 202 from the store.

Hachey said the expanded store will be larger, but not so big as to frustrate shoppers.

“Our older customers will still be able to find their way around the store easily,” he said.

Hachey will continue to own and operate the store for the next 18 to 24 months, as Hannaford obtains construction permits and builds the new store.

He said after that his plans aren’t clear. He might seek a job with Hannaford or try some other venture.

Regardless, “I intend to stay in town and make a contribution here,” he said.