Spencer's only grocery store, the Shurefine located in the heart of the village, was destroyed by a fire on Friday.

According to the Spencer Fire Department, firefighters from numerous other departments throughout the region arrived on the scene at around 12:30pm and spent the entire afternoon and evening fighting the blaze. Fire crews returned on Saturday morning to continue working to extinguish several "hot spots" that had flared up.

The Shurefine, which employed an estimated twenty to thirty people, was the only grocery store in Spencer and a lifeline for many who will now have to travel much greater distances to get groceries.

On Sunday, the Village of Spencer board released the following statement:

The recent loss of the Spencer Shur Fine is a significant event that deeply impacts our entire community and the surrounding area.

On behalf of the Mayor and the Village of Spencer Board of Trustees, we extend our sincere gratitude to all the fire departments and volunteer personnel who worked tirelessly to extinguish the fire on September 11, 2026. We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to Parkview Pizzeria for providing meals for the first responders.

Most importantly, we offer our heartfelt sympathy and support to the employees and owners of the Spencer Shur Fine during this incredibly difficult time.

Please be assured that the Village Board is fully committed to supporting the owners as they navigate their next steps in this process. While the future remains uncertain, we will do everything within our ability to support efforts to ensure that a grocery store or similar essential business remains a part of our village.

We encourage our community to remain resilient, supportive, and united as we navigate this transition together. Spencer is a strong community, and we will continue to stand together and support one another through this challenging time.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

That was a heck of a fire. I'll be surprised if they can figure out how it started. They had to knock the place down immediately while it was still smoldering.

Something about Big M's. I believe it was a Big M in Hector that burned down a year or so ago and took the whole block with it.

One this that is bugging me is the "horror" over Spencer losing it's only grocery store. Sure I know it's convenient and probably people walk there and such but here we are Van Etten, Erin, Breesport, Baldwin, Lowman etc and none of these towns have a grocery anywhere near them either. It's 20 minutes in any direction for me to get to one and then Jubilee is the closest which is expensive without a lot of selection.

Would be nice to open a great big grocery centrally between all of us.

The thing about Spencer is, it’s kind of… I’m not sure what the word would be, but they seem very hyper-locally oriented. Sure they can go to Ithaca or Owego for things, and probably cheaper, but I think they prefer to do as much as they can right there in their town. I’ve always respected that sense of community.

So I hope that they can rebuild and return a grocery store to Spencer.

On 9/15/2026 at 2:04 PM, KarenK said:

Would be nice to open a great big grocery centrally between all of us.

Take it from me, the mentality would be, “Well I can get _____ fifty cents cheaper in town!”

I know because when we had the store here, I heard that more than once. My response was “Don’t forget the $5.00 worth of gas to get there and back!”

Nearly a month after a fire destroyed Spencer’s sole grocery store, a putrid smell hangs in the air around the rubble and shopping carts are scattered throughout the wreckage of the former Shurfine Food Mart. It’s a stark reminder of what once stood at the heart of the small Tioga County village.

As the area continues to grapple with the loss of a longtime community staple, residents and local organizations are working to address its far-reaching impacts, from access to fresh groceries to support for the store’s nearly two dozen displaced employees.

For Spencer resident Brianna Newton, losing the Shurfine  — known locally as the Big M — was an “absolute gut punch.” 

“Until you’ve lived in a community that depends on a singular grocery store like that for at least 25 to 30 minutes in every direction… it’s kind of indescribable,” Newton said.

Read the rest here.