OPEN MARKET
New Market 32 opens in Clifton Park
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » After two-and-a-half months without their local Price Chopper in the western part of town, area residents were eager for the doors to open Tuesday on the new Market 32 in the Clifton Park Plaza at the corner of Vischer Ferry Road and Route 146.
Golub Corporation Executive Chairman Neil Golub was joined by store manager Ed Gendron, site developer John Nigro, and a large group of public and business officials for the 8 a.m. ribbon cutting.
At 52,400-square-feet the store is nearly double the size of the old one it replaced and, as with the other Market 32 stores, has an open interior design plan and new departments not found in the old building.
“Before we closed the other store we asked our customers what they would like to see in the new store,” Gendron said. “They told us they wanted fresh seafood, a Starbucks, a greater variety of produce, a floral department and exotic fruits and organic foods.”
A walk through the store shortly after opening found all of those requests had been filled and more.
The store has natural and organic offerings, an expanded craft beer section, a gluten-free section, a full-service meat department, and an expanded fresh produce department with items like heirloom tomatoes, fresh bunches of herbs and a wide variety of exotic mushrooms.
There is also a large seafood department, an expanded specialty cheese department, and a bakery department.
One of the larger areas new to the store is the FoodFare department where customers can buy slices of brick oven pizza, chef’s meals with entrees and sides, sandwiches, grilled specialties like Reubens and Rachels, chicken wings, and smokehouse specialties like pulled pork and beef brisket. There is also a section for fresh sushi.
“We’re excited about the Market 32s. They seem to attract a customer that’s of a younger age than what we’ve been traditionally experiencing over the years,” Golub said. “The younger customers seem to find the fresh foods and the way they are presented inviting.”
Golub should know. He has been in the grocery business a long time and recently received his 65 year pin. He noted all the changes the industry has seen through the years, yet he remains a firm believer in customer service.
“The service we are providing today is drastically different than in the past,” he said. “We are aggressively helpful with our customers. We approach them, talk to them. You don’t find that in a lot of stores and certainly not on the internet.”
In discussing competition he noted that when he first started in the business A&P was the giant to beat and they don’t even exist today.
“We still think there’s room for the hometown grocer and those who care about the community and are committed to the community,” he said. “All these guys coming in from all over the world don’t care about the communities we live in. We care.”
Part of that caring was shown in the way the plans for the plaza’s renovation were drawn up. For many years Clifton Park Plaza was a small strip mall with a 28,000-square-foot Price Chopper and a half dozen longtime, small businesses.
The plan to redevelop the plaza was designed in such a way that none of the small businesses lost one day of sales. The structures built for the small businesses were completed first. Once they were opened, the old Price Chopper was demolished in mid-March and the new superstructure for the Market 32 was started. Mike Jung, the owner of Sun Cleaners is one of the longtime business owners.
“I took this over from my sister,” he said. “She was here 27 years. She bought it from a man who had it about 40 years. Business is down a little from last year this time but now that the construction is done and the new market is open I
expect to see it pick up.”
One of the first customers through the Market 32 doors on Tuesday was Bob Rybak. He makes a stop at the market a part of his daily morning walk. He, along with many others who were there for Tuesday’s opening, missed the store and quickly grew tired of dealing with the traffic at the Market 32 in Shopper’s World Plaza.
“It’s good to have them back. I missed them,” Rybak said. “It’s nice for picking up staples like milk and produce. You can get in and out quickly. The other store was too far to walk. Today I went in and picked up a couple of pounds of fresh cherries. They’re healthy.”