North Castle Mom-and-Pop Shops Say No to CVS

Armonk’s mom-and-pop shops have organized into a united front to battle the corporate interests they think are threatening their town. Business owners across Armonk’s Main Street displayed yellow signs reading “No CVS” in storefront windows throughout May in protest to the chain pharmacy potentially replacing the town’s only A&P supermarket.“The proposal is bad for everyone,” Beascakes Bakery Proprietor Julie Dickens said. “Armonk is not a CVS town, and bringing it in would create more competition for everybody.”Dickens said that replacing the 17,500-square-foot A&P supermarket on Main Street would be an inconvenience for many, and even though its removal may create a spike in her own business, the move still went against what she thinks  North Castle needs.“That’s where a supermarket needs to be,” she said.Abe Rutman is a pharmacist and co-owner at the Town Center Pharmacy down the road from the soon-to-be CVS location. He said the town didn’t need another chain coming in and negatively affecting business. He said the town isn’t accustomed to business owners not being active members of the community.Martin Weber owns the A&P property and tried expanding the supermarket presence on Main Street and explored other options before resorting to CVS. He said that other supermarkets decided against inhabiting the space due to its smaller size.CVS spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said the chain pharmacy plans on moving into the Armonk location in the first quarter of 2012.Resident Rick Koh has been plugged into the debate and said that the location of the current A&P is the ideal spot for the town’s supermarket, and the town’s unique mom-and-pop identity was at stake.Koh, president of Royal Press in White Plains, said a CVS would impact the surrounding region by changing how local residents shop and influencing parking and traffic patterns.“It’s just not good for our town,” he said. “If a CVS comes in, we will lose that Main Street downtown feeling. Our downtown would never be the same again.”Marion Wolk of Mount Kisco said she spends time in the mom-and-pop shops on Main Street, and an influx of new chains would only damage the area’s businesses.“It’s a bad sign,” she said. “A new CVS would put stress on all of these other stores that already have enough competition with chains all around.”

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