Roche Bros. Market Could Open by Spring, Design Will Not Use Lord's Sign

The redevelopment of Lord's department store on Main Street into a boutique grocery store will not include the iconic "Lord's" sign, Medfield Selectmen were told Tuesday.

Roche Bros. plans to create a grocery market and cafe in the space, and presented design plans and initial illustrations to town officials Tuesday. If all permits and approvals are obtained, the market (still not named) could open in the spring, said Jim Sperber, the corporation's director of real estate.

It will include interior spaces for meats, deli, fresh fish, bakery and other grocery components, officials said. Outside, some seating will be made available on Main Street and on an elevated entrance platform that will join the existing rear parking to the rear entrance.

The facade will include a "living wall" of natural plantings intended to soften the appearance of the exterior. And one side of the building, leading down from Main Street, will have a mural paying homage to the store's past.

But it will not have the neon sign itself. Selectman Osler Peterson had specifically asked whether the new design would have space for the sign.

Initially, the store's designers said they had hoped to make it a part of the interior space.

But the sign is too big, Sperber said. "At this point, we do not have plans to use the sign." Instead, he said, the painted mural will help recognize the store's place in Medfield history.

So, what will happen to the sign? It's not owned by Roche Bros., Sperber said, instead, he said, it is now owned by the Kelly family.