IGA fell to big stores despite area support

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October 27, 2009

By ALVIN REINER The Press Republican Wed Oct 28, 2009, 12:16 AM EDT

WILLSBORO — IGA Country Store owner Mark McKenna appreciates his loyal customers but said that, as a pragmatic business owner, he could no longer keep the market open.

"I wish to thank the community that did support us, and my employees," he said Tuesday, a day after a store co-manager cited "lack of community support" as one of the reasons the Willsboro store would be closing.

"We put everything we had in to keeping it going, but we cannot compete with stores in Plattsburgh for prices and variety," McKenna said.

But, he added, there were "a lot of local people who did their weekly shopping here."

When Tops Market closed in 2005, McKenna and his wife, Wanda, saw the need to keep a market in the hamlet and leased the site.

Within 30 days, they had re-configured the store by making improvements in the shelving, lighting and food choices to make it consumer friendly.

"The community needed the store, and some, of course, still do, but we can't keep it open," Mr. McKenna said.

In addition to competition from Plattsburgh, the McKennas' decision to close was based on the fact that the property was leased.

"The rent was too high," Mr. McKenna said. "The landlord was supportive in many ways but wouldn't drop the rent. The overhead was too much."

The property has been leased from a real-estate company from the New York City area.

In addition, during the winter, when costs for heating and electricity are considerably more, the volume of business is greatly reduced since two-thirds of traffic comes from summer-season trade.

Several months ago, the McKennas switched distributors and went from IGA to Shur-fine products.

"I couldn't get my prices down," Mr. McKenna said. "The other product was just as good and we could reduce our prices by around 15 percent. It did make a difference."

When they changed distributors, they held a poll as to what to call the store, and "Riverview Grocery" was favored. But, since the sign on the façade still has the IGA logo, the business was still referred to as "The IGA Market."

The McKennas also own the Country Store on Station Road (Route 22) on the northwest edge of the hamlet. The convenience store and gas station is being expanded to include a butcher section, which will be run by Kevin King, the meat manager at the IGA.

For food shopping, Willsboro also has The Village Meat Market, located on Route 22 south of the hamlet, which features a butcher shop, sandwiches and homemade baked goods.

"We were lacking in community support," McKenna said.

"We thank the people who were loyal, but that wasn't enough. I can't really blame them."

E-mail Alvin Reiner at: rondackrambler@yahoo.com