Millerton leans on CVS for groceries

MILLERTON — Typically, when a household needs to stock up on groceries, people head to a supermarket. For residents in the town of North East and village of Millerton, that’s been impossible, as the last grocery store ceased operations in 2019. Its departure left a major void in the community and created what’s been described as a “food desert.”

Millerton Fresh Market was only open for a couple of years before it closed its location in 2019 at the Millerton Square Plaza on Route 44, home to the former Grand Union grocery store. When the Grand Union shut down a couple of years earlier, on  Feb. 25, 2017, residents in the region knew they would be on shaky ground in terms of local shopping options.

Hannaford history

Hope was offered when the Hannaford supermarket chain submitted a site-plan application to the North East Planning Board. While initially considering moving into the former Grand Union and renovating the space that had housed a string of grocers through the years, Hannaford ultimately pursued a location minutes east. It submitted plans to build anew adjacent to the Thompson Plaza, also on Route 44.

Millerton Square Plaza owner Joseph “Skip” Trotta has told this newspaper that while he did not have an application before the Planning Board to permit Hannaford to move in, he did “have a signed agreement” with the company. Trotta blames the Planning Board for making it impossible to close the deal.

Planning Board Chairman Dale Culver said Trotta’s accusation makes no sense, as applications are not required by the Planning Board unless exterior renovations are being made. Culver also said he had no involvement with any deal that did or did not exist between Grand Union and Trotta.

Ultimately, Hannaford withdrew its site-plan application. With it went hopes of a 36,000-square-foot spanking new store on the 10-acre lot owned by Millerton businessman Robert Quinlan that was chosen for the project.

Developer John Joseph (no relation to this reporter) of Southern Realty Development said at the time that the headache involved with the Hannaford application — which included two Article 78 lawsuits being filed against the Planning Board — was more trouble than it was worth.

Hannaford, ordered by the courts to lessen its footprint in the Northeast for fear of monopolizing the supermarket market, instead opted to join forces with the Stop & Shop in North Canaan, Conn.

Millerton Fresh Market’s attempts to take over where Grand Union left off were short-lived. After two years of reported challenges stocking shelves and lackluster sales, it closed. Millerton was left in its current marketless state.

Local food desert

Which brings the community to its current predicament: Where can people buy quick, affordable and easy-to-access groceries?

The North Canaan Stop & Shop is about 20-25 minutes away; Amenia Freshtown is roughly 15-20 minutes south of Millerton; Peck’s Market in Pine Plains is also about a 20-minute drive; the Hillsdale IGA requires a touch more travel time.

Whichever grocery store Millerton and North East residents go to, it’s a drive — and that makes daily life difficult.

Alternatives

So, what to do? Many in the town and village have resorted to buying their groceries at places like CVS and Cumberland Farms in Millerton as well as the two dollar stores in Amenia.

Millerton CVS Store Manager Amy Butler said, “We sell groceries. Dry and wet food.”

Butler said CVS offers a fairly full variety of food.

“We have milk, bread, cereal, coffee, cream, some breakfast things, granola bars, some frozen food — not a ton — and ice cream.”

CVS sells mostly shelf-stable and frozen foods. After all, it’s not a traditional grocery store. Without providing options like fresh produce and meats, shoppers admit it’s impossible to expect that it could supply a full spectrum of nutritional needs.

When there are no other options, shoppers will, of course, do what’s necessary to feed themselves and their families. Local residents without their own means of transportation especially have to lean on such conveniences, as CVS and Cumberland Farms are within a walkable distance for many living in the village.

The shift in shopping habits has been noticeable. Butler said CVS saw a dramatic jump in food sales since the Millerton Fresh Market left town.

“Oh yeah, it’s definitely a lot. That’s one of our top categories,” she said. “I’ve been here for like three-and-a-half years. I was here when the grocery store just closed, and the [increase in food sales] started when it closed.”

She added, “People definitely buy more food here. They don’t want to have to go a town over to pick up something. They’ll come in here, and we definitely have a better selection than what we did. We have more in stock and [have been] getting more products in because of COVID.”

The COVID impact

In so many ways, the coronavirus pandemic changed society’s habits and needs; many people tend to stay closer to home whenever possible. CVS adjusted with the times. It now offers two dedicated grocery aisles and another with candy and snack food, plus two coolers full of food.

For many, the drug store is the go-to destination for stocking their cupboards. Butler said CVS has its fair share of regulars who have come to rely on it for sustenance.

“We definitely have our customers who buy a lot of groceries and stuff here,” she said. “Especially in summers, because people have summer homes. They buy drinks, water, juice, etc.”

Butler added many days she sees shopping carts piled high with food, as one normally would see in the aisles of a traditional grocer.

“Yes they do,” she said. “People buy full shopping carts full.”

With the lack of any other supermarkets in town, Butler said she “wasn’t surprised” to see a spike in food sales.

“I kind of knew it was coming as soon as we found out the grocery store was closing,” she said. “I knew it would happen.”

Because so many now rely on the Millerton CVS for food, the store manager said ideally she would like to offer more options, like fresh produce.

“If we could do produce and stuff like that we would do very well here,” she said, “I know some [CVS] stores have fresh food and produce. They tend to do that in city areas and walkable places, near colleges.”

Butler requested the Millerton CVS be allowed to similarly sell fresh food and produce, but was told its footprint is too small to accommodate everything needed to make that possible.

There are a number of local farms and farm stands that sell extremely fresh, local produce and meats, but again, transportation is typically required to access them.

Pharmacy needs help

In addition to food sales booming at the Millerton CVS, its pharmacy continues to be busy. Making operations challenging is the fact that the pharmacy has been short-staffed since 2020.

Butler explained the main pharmacist moved away, and then a number of employees all left at once. She stressed it was not due to illness, and simply called the mass exodus “bad timing.”

The Millerton CVS pharmacy has been looking for more help ever since. Last year, staffing the pharmacy became so difficult it was forced to close on Sundays.

“I pray to God that doesn’t ever happen again — we had to cut pharmacy hours and cut Sundays,” said Butler.

Still short-staffed, Butler said CVS is looking to hire pharmacy technicians; it will provide the training.

Interested applicants may apply in person at 108 Route 44, call 518-789-3444 for details or go to jobs@cvshealth.com.

To read about local shoppers’ habits, read Page A1.