Noah Katz, a Vice President of Foodtown/Freshtown, stands in front of the Margaretville Freshtown, which will hold a grand opening ribbon-cutting at 7pm tonight. Photo by Lissa Harris.
The citizens of Margaretville and Delhi get to celebrate two long-awaited grand openings this weekend: In Margaretville, the spiffed-up Freshtown supermarket, and in Delhi, the brand-spankin'-new Tractor Supply Co. store. Both new stores are located on the bones of old supermarkets in the centers of town, which means that they have a lot to live up to. Or, in the case of Margaretville's old A&P, maybe not, according to some online reviews of the A&P posted on Insider Pages:
From Michelle H.:
This is the only grocery store in town, and I dread going there. When we first moved here, we needed to stock up on groceries. After a few minutes in the store, I just left my cart and walked out. The prices there are outrageous. Now, I actually drive an hour away to Kingston to shop for groceries. Now, I actually drive an hour away to Kingston to shop for groceries. If I need soda or something else during the week, I either go without or try the CVS next door. I've had more than a few conversations with townspeople and all of them agree with me. One woman even said, "They are taking advantage of their position."
From Jason F.:
[W]e hated the old A&P also! It's now a Fresh Town (same family as Food Town) and it is wonderful. It's beautiful inside and out. New shelving, new refrigerated units, and new wider range of products including natural and organics!
They only closed for about a week and did construction when closed so locals and weekenders could have groceries virtually non-stop.
There don't seem to be any similar online critics of Delhi's departed Great American supermarket, which closed last summer. But there was some trepidation about the new Tractor Supply store moving in, according to the same article from the Daily Star last fall:
Most of the negative comments came from people who said the store would not fit the character of Delhi's Main Street, while several others pointed out that the corner where the store would be located also houses three gas-station convenience stores.
