[UNY NEWS] The End of Mohawk Village Market and the Downsizing of Walgreens

Welcome to Retail Regents News, the feature where yours truly blogs about the happenings in retail around Upstate New York! Keep in mind, many of the pictures shown in these posts may not be recent, but suffice as long as the subject has not been updated.

In this feature, we will be taking a look at the closing of an old supermarket in the village of Mohawk and the impending relocation of a Walgreens just two miles west in the nearby village of Ilion.

The End of Village Market

Mohawk, NY

Mohawk Village Market, pictured in April 2021.

The current owners of this vintage supermarket have announced their retirement and will be closing this store effective November 19th, after 33 years of ownership. The store was built in 1955.

All pictures in relating to this store were taken on April 13, 2021.

Former Frozen Foods section, which at this time housed a book section.

Given this store was built in 1955, it appears the store's decor and majority of the fixtures are most likely original, though the shopping carts certainly are not.

Shur-Fine branded cups, which have not sold for many years. Problem is, this was not the only merchandise that was many years out of date. Some food items were long past their expiration date, most notably a bag of lentils which expired in 2017!

In other news...

The Impending Downsizing of Walgreens

Ilion, NY

Walgreens existing location at 4 Central Plaza, which was built in 2004 for Eckerd and was converted to Rite Aid in 2007. Photograph taken on June 9, 2020.

Two miles west in Ilion, Walgreens plans on replacing their freestanding big box drug store at Central Plaza with what is most likely a smaller pharmacy-only store across Central Ave, on the site of the former State Bowling Center, a staple of the village since the late 1940s. At the time of this writing, plans have been submitted for Walgreens to move to the site, but no demolition permits have been requested, according to a report on WKTV.

To my fellow retail enthusiasts, do you have a tip about the happenings of the retail scene in Upstate NY? Please leave a comment below!