Greenlawn Supermarket Opening Fills Grocery Void For Community
/By Jano Tantongco
jtantongco@longislandergroup.com
The finishing touches are put on Greenlawn Farms on Wednesday, one day before the supermarket was expected to open. Greenlawn Farms replaces the defunct Waldbaum’s in the Greenlawn Plaza shopping center.
Family-owned supermarket Greenlawn Farm has replaced the Waldbaum’s that closed its Pulaski Road doors last year.
After the he Waldbaum’s closed, the around 500 senior residents of nextdoor Paumanack Village faced a sudden lack of access to nearby groceries.
Mary D’Agostino, who helps manage the community as a service coordinator, said the newly-opened Greenlawn Farm is a “very welcome change for them.”
She continued, “They’re very excited. The weather’s turning. A lot of them like to walk each day and go shopping.”
Greenlawn Farm was to officially open its doors today at 11 a.m. A grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting will be held 12 noon-2 p.m., Saturday, featuring a prize wheel, balloon animals, clowns and dancing for children. Adults can enjoy in-store sampling, demonstrations and giveaways. One winner take home a Weber Genesis Premium Gas Grill and food for a 20-person barbeque.
Following a meeting between D’Agostino and store owner Michael Zoitas, a discount deal for Paumanack seniors has been arranged. According to D’Agostino, residents with photo identification will receive a 10-percent discount on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
“We’re going to have a nice neighborhood relationship with them,” D’Agostino said.
“We are extremely grateful for the support that the residents have gotten from everybody,” she added, noting that a local CVS and Value Drugs pharmacies have been providing free delivery for Paumanack residents’ prescription medications.
For others, the opening of the supermarket brought about relief. Darryl St. George, president of the Greenlawn Civic Association, said Wednesday that there was a period of time where the fate of the storefront was up in the air.
“We were not sure that was going into that space,” he said, adding that he is pleased Zoitas was keeping Paumanack residents in mind.
“We’re happy to hear that they’re conscious of the fact that the residents are predominately on fixed incomes,” St. George said.
Zoitas and his family took over the Southdown Marketplace in Huntington in 1999. They established a second location in Northport over two years ago, also known as Southdown Marketplace. Zoitas could not be reached before deadline on Wednesday.
