There is no good news in Greenburgh when it comes to supermarkets. Predictably, we await Mr Feiner's daily GBList email stating there’s "Good News!" to deflect away from the declining supermarket population from the Town. We’ve written previously about businesses that find it difficult to operate in Greenburgh and of the mounting anti-business environment fostered by Mr Feiner and his Town Board. All of the various taxes, imposed under the guise of fees, registrations, permits, applications, etc., along with ordinances, regulations, and more during the 24 years of Mr Feiner's failed financial incompetence, it’s no wonder businesses cannot survive here. It’s paralleled by the residents’ exodus as well.
ABG has also written extensively about the disappearance of food stores throughout the Town. While some loss may certainly be attributed to internet sales as Mr Feiner will have you believe, most of the loss cannot. When ABG spoke to a Greenburgh A&P store manager under the promise of anonymity, he said that the increased and growing competition has forced smaller margins, the high cost of union labor in Westchester in general and the cost of doing business in Greenburgh with its regulations, fees, fines and intrusions, was forcing not only his store, but others in the same strip malls to close.
Based in Irvington, NY, the Mrs Green's chain of natural and health food supermarkets found a difficult time of it after closing their Central park Avenue store and moving into the former Turco's store. When Turco's closed, it created an area void in the Town for a slightly more upscale supermarket with attractive prices, high quality foods, pleasant employees and a seemingly genuine goal of providing excellent customer service. Primarily featuring Italian foods, they too closed based on a shifting demographic as well as increased costs.
After Turco’s closed, Pathmark on Central Park Avenue and Waldbaums in the Crossroads Shopping Center on Rt 119 followed suit. The A&P had only two stores left in the area: the one on Dobbs Ferry Road and the one on Central Park Avenue in Scarsdale. The Dobbs Ferry Road A&P has been purchased and reopened within two days as an Acme Supermarket. Soon, the Scarsdale A&P will be shuttered. Never known to miss an opportunity for publicity, Mr Feiner insisted he and his 24 years of increased fees and costs of doing business in Greenburgh had nothing to do with these stores’ demise. Once it was learned back then that Mrs Green would be taking over the former Turco’s, his media blitz began.
The final day of operation for Mrs Green's is November 12, 2015. Right from the beginning they have seemed to have a rough time of making the store successful. As a niche store, with what could only be seen as a limited offering and generally higher prices, they were competing with other area stores for the sales of some similar products at lower prices. While we're not trying to be critical of their business model, apparently their slight shift from the Scarsdale area to the current location, and the direct competition of H-Mart right next door, was too much to endure. Sadly, while the store’s management says it will try to find positions for its workers in their other locations, we're sure it’ll be a difficult time for many and wish them all well.
It has also been reported that Mrs Green’s was in arrears for approximately $900k with numerous outstanding advertising invoices as reported by the Journal News in 2014. In fact, the Journal News had a substantial amount of money owed to them for advertising. Perhaps if advertising in the Journal News was cost-effective, Mrs Green's might be staying.
We hope there will be another food-related store to move into the soon to be vacated space. The area needs supermarkets and other retail business along Central Avenue in particular and the Town in general. It’s funny in a sad way. Mr Feiner continually green lights plans for his developer friends for carbon copy developments throughout the Town. Yet, these plans never include ideas that would help the Town’s residents, such as supermarkets. This has to change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
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Fair is fair and this article is not. It is ridiculous to inflict the closing of local A&Ps or Mrs. Green's on the governance of our incompetents. Feiner's reach does not extend over the entire A&P network (or Mrs. Green's) and for certain local taxes and fees are not the cause of what I believe to be is A&P's third declaration of bankruptcy -- this time ending in liquidation. You've also forgotten to include the successor to Turco's, Morton Williams, and, the hasty retreat of Gourmet Garage from Midway -- both of which continue to prosper in Manhattan where Mrs. Green is heading. While bemoaning the loss of some supermarkets, don't forget those that have newly arrived: Stop & Shop, ShopRite, Trader Joe's, an aging Stew Leonard's and now, Acme checkmating the expansion of DeCicco's. Hey the organic grown niche has been growing, true, but the sticker price of these products in the hosting stores is five to six times that of the supermarket's "not so healthy?" house brand. Not only is such pricing pissing off the 1%ers but also middle class "believers" -- go talk to Whole Foods and hear them weep. One of the fallacies that persists is the belief that supermarkets are still a low margin business which is true only when items are on sale or consistently true for some departments; however factor in those sku's that are not on sale and their mark-up is double digit. What has been the problem for years is that competition now exists locally from big box chains, the Walmarts, Targets and their kith and kin, Sam's Club and Costco as discounters even while the internet/home delivery are growing market share. And the older, established chains are unable or unwilling to compete because it means finding locations which can accommodate the new competitive size of today's bigger and better supermarkets (now selling air conditioners, drugs and underwear) which are eating the lunch of the older, smaller markets. So please, don't let the forest get in the way of looking at individual trees. In other words, there are plenty of legitimate things to criticize Feiner and his cohorts for but being responsible, directly or indirectly, for those supermarkets which are closing is not one of them. And by pandering to those who have your ear and complain that they no longer have a supermarket a stone throw away is doing disservice to your own credibility and that of "the cause". There are plenty of supermarkets around; let's not shed tears over the closing of one of the most expensive in the area or the chain that took on too much debt.
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