NANUET, N.Y. -- Shoppers were busy scooping up bargains at the Nanuet Pathmark on Route 59, which closed its doors Thursday after serving the community for more than three decades.
"I was able to get a lot of kosher things," said Helene Kornstein of New City, holding up a long Pathmark receipt totaling more than $150 on a day in which customers must pay with credit cards and not cash. She was packing her trunk with many items at midday including jars of gefilte fish, which cost $1.60 apiece, down from $7.95.
Kornstein planned to take the food to a food pantry run by the Rockland Jewish Family Services.
"A lot of poor people will benefit from this," she said, acknowledging that the store's closure leaves a gap in the community and represents hardship for all those who are losing their jobs.
This store is among a sweep of A&Ps and Pathmarks that are closing throughout the region. The inside of the Pathmark resembled a Soviet-era supermarket with bare shelves.
Store manager Bill Kress said he could not answer any questions regarding a new tenant for the site.
Nanuet resident Judy Wiltsie came to shop Thursday, though she said she'd been buying food at other supermarkets in recent years, in particular ShopRite in Pearl River.
"This store had not been offering the best prices," Wiltsie said. But she took a moment to echo what others said. "But it is sad because a lot of people who work here will be unemployed."
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