Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

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nysw3636
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Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

Post by nysw3636 »

I did not see a topic on this, so I'm starting this one. There was a Wallace's Department Store on Albany Avenue in Kingston, NY that closed in the mid 70's. Several people I know, along with myself, are debating what the supermarket next to it was. I said it was a Food Fair. Anyone remember this? There was also a Woolworth's in the middle of this plaza...
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nysw3636
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Re: Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

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After some homework, I know it was definitely a Food Fair. The Ulster Shopping Plaza in Kingston,NY had Wallace's Dept. Store, Food Fair, Woolworth's, Pittsburg Paints, along with other local merchants...
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Re: Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

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How extensive was their reach in New York? The reason I ask is because I recall a new build Pantry Pride in Schnectady (actually Niskayuna proper) as part of a JM Fields combo in the Mohawk Mall which was built I'm going to say early 70's. Don't know when they left but the JM Fields eventually became Bradlee's and the grocery became Price Chopper. The center eventually became a "dead mall" and was demolished some years ago for an open air center called Mohawk Commons. Was the Schnectady/Niskayuna location indeed the farthest they went in NY state or even the farthest they went from their Phila. home base for that matter?
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Re: Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

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I believe the Mohawk Mall (Niskayuna,NY) was their most northern reach in NY. In that area, Food Fair had stores in Schenectady, Menands, Latham, Troy, and Albany. I think I read somewhere that Food Fair tried to build in Utica,NY, but was shot down (although a JM Fields did open there). As far as distance from Philly...not sure. BTW, Price Chopper took over Mohawk Mall Food Fair location in mid-1976...
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Re: Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

Wow-I had no idea they had that many stores in the area. About the closest I got to any info. on the stores was an article from the Troy (NY) Record in 1976 about Price Chopper buying some leases but all I could conjure up was the headline-never could access the article. Couple of questions then: first off, do you have any idea on addresses and were some of them Food Fair or were they all Pantry Pride or a mix of both? Also, interesting you mention Utica because I think I know where that JM Fields was located. Was it in the Riverside Mall? The reason I ask is because there was a Bradlee's there with the trademark JM Fields "Arch Facade" so it wouldn't surprise me if that was the one. Strange they were allowed to build the department store but not the supermarket.
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Re: Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

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First, J.M. Fields was indeed located in Riverside Mall in Utica, NY. As far as addresses for Food Fairs (not Pantry Prides) in the Albany,NY area, I have the following...

Latham,NY
Old Loudon Road & Rt. 9

Albany,NY
Broadway & Wards Lane

Troy,NY
861 Second Avenue

Menands,NY
J.M. Fields location??

Schenectady,NY (Niskayuna)
Mohawk Mall
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Re: Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

Post by BillyGr »

nysw3636 wrote:First, J.M. Fields was indeed located in Riverside Mall in Utica, NY. As far as addresses for Food Fairs (not Pantry Prides) in the Albany,NY area, I have the following...
nysw3636 wrote: Schenectady,NY (Niskayuna)
Mohawk Mall
This one you already described (and it makes sense)
nysw3636 wrote: Albany,NY
Broadway & Wards Lane

Menands,NY
J.M. Fields location??
This is kind of confusing - Broadway and Wards Lane intersection is actually in Menands - there is a shopping plaza on that corner that had a Woolworth and Price Chopper market (which is as far back as I can remember) so this was probably the Food Fair - that Woolworth seemed older (at one point they still made their Diet Coke with syrup & water mixed by hand, like an old style soda fountain) so I don't know that it was anything else, but maybe?

The opposite corner of that intersection (Wards Lane ends @ Broadway, so there are only 2 "Corners") is where the main Montgomery Wards in the area was (multi-story building, parking garage - it's now an office complex still in the old building) - hence the name Wards Lane.
nysw3636 wrote: Latham,NY
Old Loudon Road & Rt. 9
Trying to figure this out - the only points where the two roads "meet" are at both ends of Old Loudon Road - one end of this had a plaza on the opposite side of Route 9 which I only remember having Albany Public market and a variety of other stores. The other end is in an area that has more recent development but I don't think had anything dating that far back.
However, since the two roads parallel each other, there is a plaza that sits between the roads (New Loudon Center, across from today's Latham Farms), which did later have Bradlees and still does have Price Chopper, so that's probably the location.
nysw3636 wrote: Troy,NY
861 Second Avenue
Second Avenue is only in the Northern part of Troy and is AKA Route 4 in that area. For the most part it runs along the river - there is a 1st Ave nearer to the river for a few blocks, but it's really a small street.
There is currently a Price Chopper at 865 Second Avenue, so that has to be the spot - this plaza only has the Price Chopper and a smaller store that was an Eckerd (which is probably 861?) - though this Price Chopper is still not supersized. So probably not a combo, unless there was another building that is long since gone.

Looks like Price Chopper did take over all the stores (and amazingly still have stores in those same spots, even though several are different/larger buildings and Mohawk Mall had a gap in occupancy).
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Re: Food Fair/ Pantry Pride in Kingston,NY?

Post by nysw3636 »

Makes sense now.
nysw3636 wrote: Albany,NY
Broadway & Wards Lane

Menands,NY
J.M. Fields location??
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