TOUR: Red Mills Market - Mahopac Falls, NY

Red Mills Market

Owner: Junior Zayed Dabashi

Opened: 2018 under current ownership, 1960 under original ownership

Cooperative: Key Food Stores

Location: 575 NY-6N, Mahopac Falls, NY

Photographed: May 2019

Grand Union stores in Beacon, Mahopac, and Milford were taken over by a Key Food operator whose identity I haven't quite tracked down yet when the stores closed in 2001. This operator sold these stores to fellow Key Food operator Junior Zayed Dabashi, whose family owned Key Food stores in New York City. Well, while Beacon and Milford are going strong (in fact, when I visited Milford it was so packed that Dabashi himself was on a register), Mahopac was bought out by Stop & Shop in 2016, then promptly demolished to make way for a new store we'll tour tomorrow. Shortly thereafter, as luck would have it, Red Mills Market owners Ron and Regina Jedlicka announced they were retiring and selling the business. The Dabashi family quickly jumped on the opportunity to return to Mahopac and have been doing minor updates to the store, which has taken on customers from the old Key Food location. Check out this great article at TapInto for more background.

The 4300 square foot store might not seem like much to look at, but it's a fantastic local market. The first aisle is lined with produce and dairy in brand-new cases. Unfortunately, the old Key Food closed well before the Dabashi family took on this store, so they couldn't bring in any fixtures from the closed Key Food.

The store's selection is quite impressive for such a small location.

While the store doesn't run a typical Key Food circular (instead using a single-page 8.5 x 11 paper), they do have the Urban Meadow and Full Circle storebrand products on the shelves.

Otherwise, the center store is pretty straightforward. I believe there are five aisles, with produce and dairy in the first; meat and frozen in the last. Hot food, deli, and butcher line the back wall, with (surprisingly) a great bakery in the front corner and maybe 2 registers.

I was surprised to see these custom Red Mills Market-branded spices in stock!

Deli and hot food in the back left corner. These fixtures are all new.

Butcher next to deli, apparently a big draw to this store.

Meat and dairy cases also are all brand-new. The grocery shelving is older, but it's not a big problem. The only other thing I'd love to see in this wonderful little store is some new flooring.

Some outstanding-looking bread, bagels, donuts, and cookies in the front bakery case. Hard to tell whether they bake in store (if they do, it would be done in the backroom, with the bakery department in the front of the store). Otherwise, I wouldn't be surprised if they bring in fresh products from local bakeries. Looks great either way! Now on to the former Key Food location, which is now a Stop & Shop, tomorrow...