Fine Fare opens in Knolls Crescent after months of community advocacy

Dozens of customers strolled mostly-stocked aisles in Fine Fare By Ben’s Market at the grocery store’s Oct. 7 soft opening — a long-awaited development for community members who have been fighting for the revitalization of the Knolls Crescent shopping strip.

The grand opening for the store — located at 21B Knolls Crescent — will be in November, and the space next door will be a pharmacy potentially opening next March, owner Junior Frias said, though it depends on the speed of permits.

The store has 14 employees at the moment, Frias said.

Frias said empty spaces remain on the shelves because he is still waiting on a beer license and merchandise deliveries. But Spuyten Duyvil residents at the soft opening told The Press they were simply grateful to have a place to shop nearby again, the result of months of work by Frias and community advocates.

“This has been one of the toughest projects of my life,” Frias said, pointing to challenges such as permits delaying work, getting equipment delivered and installing fixtures. “But I’m very excited. We pulled it off and we’re here.”

Frias owned Ben’s Market next door to the new Fine Fare, but closed it so he could open the Fine Fare, agreeing to a 20-year lease with property management company Friedland Properties, The Press previously reported. The space that now houses the grocery store was formerly a Rite Aid that shuttered last summer.

Frias said he and others involved with the new store want to do good for the community, and are grateful for the community support the project has received throughout the process.

The Fine Fare’s produce manager, Michael Smith, worked for Ben’s Market since it opened in 1998. Smith said he appreciates the new, roomier space. He also said that if customers want a product the store doesn’t stock, they should tell him.

“We are here to work with the community, work with the neighborhood,” Smith said. “Whatever they need, we find a way to get.”

The feeling of support and cooperation with the community has been mutual. Community members started taking action in February, led by Knolls Crescent Cooperative I President Joan Carroll and board member Karen Kawaguchi. The group aimed to revitalize a once-lively commercial strip turned mostly vacant due to rising rents and broader disinvestment, The Press previously reported. Organizers have pointed to the need for walkable services in a community that has many residents who are older adults or are on a fixed income.

The “Save Knolls Kappock Retail” campaign emerged, promoting retail opportunities for businesses and maintaining public interest through group emails and social media, Kawaguchi said.

Seeing the store’s soft opening take place felt great, she said.

Community response to the Fine Fare has been positive so far, and Kawaguchi hopes the store elevates the neighborhood, ideally attracting a restaurant, cafe or urgent care center to the corridor.

One customer who was present on the store’s opening day, Frank Banks, had some reservations on his first shopping trip at Fine Fare. Banks said he lives across the street, and that he had been opting to shop at Foodtown and Gourmet Market in Kingsbridge because he found Ben’s Market to be too expensive, and felt that their meat selection wasn’t satisfactory. But after Banks had some time to browse, he said he was impressed.

“I’m still going to give them more time, they got a lot of empty space,” Banks said. “But I like it. It’s going to save me from going down to 231st.”

Frias said pricing at the store is determined by Fine Fare, and increases are due to inflation.

Other grocery shoppers were purely optimistic. Heather Yahr, who also lives nearby and grew up in the area, recalled the time when the corridor’s grocery store was a CTown. She said she also found the prices at Ben’s Market high, and was primarily relying on national chains like Stop and Shop.

“I’m so excited that there’s a grocery store up here again,” Yahr said, adding the store is within walking distance of her home. “I can’t believe how much stuff they put in here.”

Frias said the store will be open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and weekends 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hours will remain the same after the grand opening.