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Only Local Supermarket In Westchester Town Closes

ARMONK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- With gas prices climbing, residents of one Westchester town are finding that buying groceries is a long haul.

Armonk is a town with spacious upscale homes, open spaces, a quaint downtown, and after Tuesday, no supermarket.

"Where will I do grocery shopping?" resident Cynthia Barger asked CBS 2's Lou Young.

That's one question residents were trying to answer Tuesday night even as they picked up closing day bargains at the only supermarket in town.

"I'm living here since 1970 and it's all we had in here. It's just, it's just very upsetting," said Maria Canato.

"I think it's a sad thing because everyone has to travel a lot further now to buy their groceries," said Susan Soloman.

Some said they'll go north to Bedford, west to Hawthorne, or south to Scarsdale. These would be 30- and 40-minute round trips.

"It's crazy. I mean, I don't understand it. We should have a supermarket," said Maryanne Kholdani.

The back story involves a long-term zoning dispute between the landlord and the town over how many parking spaces they would need here if they renovated the place. The lawyer for the owner said they were six spaces short.

Neither side would budge, and no compromise means no supermarket.

Fifty local A&P employees spent their last day on the job saying goodbye to customers as work crews pulled apart the shelves and fixtures. Many are accepting transfers to other stores, but for one employee with 20 years at the register in Armonk, the answer was no.

"I'm really going to miss this place," she said. "Try to find another job. They offer me a good job but not good friends like I have in here, good people. I live here and I love them."

Next time the supermarket opens its doors, it'll be a drug store.

Eventually a large gourmet grocery store is expected to open in Armonk to pick up some of the slack, but not all.

The town plans to run free food shopping shuttle buses for seniors for the foreseeable future.

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