By Pete Stidman
News Editor

Uphams Corner businesspeople are excited to get their anchors back, and Jeanne Dubois is particularly excited about the fresh cut meat.

"Tell them about the way you do it," Dubois, director of Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, implored Nelson Fernandez, co-owner of Brother's Supermarket at a community meeting on Alexander Street last Thursday.

"We have all kinds of meat, chicken, pork, laid out," said Fernandez, shyly. "We just cut it to how you want it."

"Yes," said Dubois, "it's not prepackaged, which is very nice."

Nelson and his brothers Eduardo, German, Victor, Jose and Ambiori, have run a 3,000 square foot store at 46 Washington St. for 18 years. They've owned Brother's Super Liquors at 740 Blue Hill Ave. even longer. Later this year, or perhaps early next year, they hope to open a new 4,500 square foot location next to the CVS Pharmacy on Dudley Street in Uphams Corner.

"We're just waiting for them to make the lease," said Eduardo Fernandez of CVS' real estate department. "I think they said they were fixing something. They said they would get it for us next week."

The CVS, which replaces America's Food Basket, a grocery that closed in February, will open its doors on Oct. 21, said CVS regional manager of real estate Debbie Constantine.

"The building is starting to look like something," she said. "I'm told the windows went in today."

Each of the two stores is expected to bring in over 25 jobs, for a total of at least 50 new positions in the neighborhood. CVS representatives said they would start taking applications at the store on Oct. 1. At its peak, America's Food Basket brought in 16,000 shoppers a week for a gross as high as $160,000, according to Jeanne Dubois, and it is hoped that the two new stores will do as well or better.

"It's going to increase foot traffic on Dudley Street and it's going to stay open later than the businesses there do right now," said director of Uphams Corner Main Streets, Zach Cohen. "It has already started talk in the neighborhood about other businesses staying open later."