Village is coping without Associated Supermarket

Malverne’s commercial sector has taken a bit of hit in the last two months since its main supermarket shut down in November, but business owners are staying optimistic that the village’s charm will attract potential newcomers to set up shop.

When Associated Supermarket closed its doors late last year, it left Malverne without a central food store for the first time in several decades, forcing Malvernites to leave the village for grocery shopping and, thus, cutting down the incidental business Associated had provided for neighboring shops.

It was convenient to have the supermarket around — not only for food shopping, but for running errands locally: after shopping, people would run into the salon next door or across the street to the butcher’s.

Associated’s exit affects not only the business community, “it does take a blow to the whole village,” said Henry Stampfel, president of the Malverne Merchants and Professional Association. “Now [people] don’t come in as much.”

According to Stampfel, who owns the Malverne Cinema just steps away from the vacant supermarket, Associated owner John Perez was struggling to keep the place open. Fellow members of the Malverne’s commercial sector were sad to see him go, as he had made a great impression on them in the short year since he took over the Hempstead Avenue property. Perez donated pumpkins for the Malverne street fair and got involved in the village’s many events. “He was a great guy,” Stampfel said, “but he just wasn’t able to make it work.”

But that’s not to say the someone else can’t. The merchant’s association and village officials are hoping to rent the spot soon, and they would love to see it remain a grocery store, according to Stampfel.

“It’s crying out for something maybe a little different,” he said, “maybe more of a five-and-dime. You never know — another person might be able to approach it differently and be successful.”

Malverne Mayor Patricia McDonald said it would be great to have some sort of specialty retail grocery store, like, say Trader Joe’s, come into the village.

“The village has tried to be proactive … to spark interest [in the location],” she said. “With any business, especially with the economy we’re in right now, the village tried to be proactive. …We’d be more than willing to work with anyone coming in.”

McDonald said what was most upsetting about Associated’s exit is that it left the village with a vacant property when it had been expecting an immediate takeover. Perez had suggested a new owner would replace him upon leaving, McDonald said, but some financial complications prevented that from happening. Vacant property is something no commercial sector wants.

“From the merchants’ point of view, of course, we always want to be fully rented,” Stampfel said. “But generally Malverne has been okay.”

Malverne resident Robert Powers said he thinks “any time a merchant closes their door, it’s a loss for the residents of Malverne.” Many residents, including Powers himself, who return from work via train, used to stop by Associated on the way home to pick up dinner. Now, Powers said, “we have to go out of our village to go food shopping. We look forward to seeing another food store open soon.”

Associated’s closing, coupled with the elimination of weekend service on the Long Island Rail Road and the current real estate market is affecting the whole village, Stampfel said. “You don’t see it, but people are doing the best they can,” he added. “We’re just all buckling down.”

There is already some interest in the property, according to Stampfel, and the entire village is crossing its fingers and holding its breath in the hope of landing a new merchant.

“You lose your downtown area, you lose your business,” McDonald said. “We’ll do whatever we can to help.”