Albany’s South End neighborhood now has its own grocery store.
When the Rite Aid store at 310 South Pearl Street permanently closed in 2018 it effectively rendered the South End a “food desert,” with bread, milk, eggs and other grocery staples removed from local access. The following year the McDonald’s restaurant several doors down, a neighborhood fixture for 27 years, shuttered as well. By spring of 2021, plans were in the works to bring a full-service grocery store to the old McDonald’s site. There were hopes the new market would stimulate the neighborhood economy.
Travon Jackson is president of BlueLight Development Group and Executive Director of the African American Cultural Center of the Capital Region, which owns the new store that held its grand opening Tuesday.
"And when I think of the South End Grocery, there's no better metaphor than a lush, overflowing forest," said Jackson. "Full not just of plants and vegetables, but life. Teeming with life, finding a way to survive, no matter what, no matter how. And that's what we're doing here today. That's what these people are doing. That's what we already knew. Survival is not an effort that can be stopped by the wary. Survival is not a mission that can be deterred by those unwilling to take a risk and survival. Survival can be no deeper and trenched than it is in the hearts of black and oppressed people in this country who at this very moment stand on land that was stolen and still has not been bequeathed to the rightful owners after all this time.
The Black-owned non-profit is a godsend for South End resident Sadie Boyd, who wiped away tears as she explained how long she waited.
"Something overdue," Boyd said. " Way overdue. And they did it. They didn't give up. They didn't give up. You know, most people they say they're gonna come do something big in the community. You make a difference. He did it. Oh, sorry. I'm an emotional wreck because it's real. For all of us. You, me, all of us and love. This is wherever it starts in the community."
The shelves are stocked with a variety of products including canned and frozen foods, fresh produce and dairy products. There’s a sandwich bar in the back.
District 2 Albany County Legislator Merton Simpson says he too is glad to see the store opening and will shop there, but the Democrat warns other “deserts” are being formed, particularly along lower Central Avenue where the CVS pharmacy and TrustCo bank have closed.
"This used to be part of my district and we redistricted, but obviously, the highest concentration of population, the county's in the inner city, with the greatest need, and so this is long overdue," Simpson said. "I'm just worried about now we have a pharmacy desert. The CVS near me is closing up. We lost the Walgreens, they took Rite Aid over, and now we got no pharmacies, you know, so. Albany is the poster child in the country for urban blight. Redlining from day one here. It's terrible."
Timothy Reidy lives nearby on Herkimer Street. He doesn't own a car and had been traveling to Rensselaer to shop at a supermarket there.
"Nice to see that I don't have to do that as much anymore," said Reidy. " Now I'm seeing a ton of good basics here. And I'm really excited. I'm looking at some bread so I don't have to worry about running out of bread. That's obviously one of the things you know, sometimes I have to worry about.”
Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., eventually expanding to 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
