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YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – Pizza Hut, Luvin Spoonfuls, Victoria’s Confections and others have been filling up some of Yorktown’s storefronts recently, but a few big vacancies still remain.
What would you like to see take over the vacant Food Emporium building?
View ResultsWhat would you like to see take over the vacant Food Emporium building?
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Restaurant
15% -
Movie Theater
23% -
Sporting Goods Store
8% -
Grocery Store
8% -
Christmas Tree Shop
8% -
Gym
0% -
Ice Rink
15% -
Other (tell us in the comments)
23%
The biggest of them all might be the vacant Food Emporium building on Downing Drive, which closed in 2010 after filing for bankruptcy. Council member Terrence Murphy said the Food Emporium space is a priority for the town and he has been working diligently to find a new tenant.
If a prospective tenant is found, Murphy said, the town will have to take Food Emporium’s owners to bankruptcy court. The building is owned by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), which also has a grocery store in the downtown area.
We asked our Facebook readers Tuesday what they would like to see take over the building, and popular answers included a new grocery store, a retail store, an ice rink, a restaurant, a movie theater and a Christmas Tree Shop.
“Movie theater, billiards, something for the teen population to do around here!!” wrote Debora Stewart-Stern. “We have enough food chains available to us, give our kids something to do, get them off the streets - keep them out of the trouble of drinking and driving!!!!!!”
The most popular store was Trader Joe’s, which was mentioned by more than a dozen readers. Whole Foods and Target were the second-most mentioned stores.
Murphy said the town had reached out to Trader Joe’s about taking over the building in the past, but said its owners were not interested. He also said the town was in talks with Designer Show Warehouse (DSW), which ultimately decided to open a store in the Cortlandt Town Center.
Let us know in the poll, in the comments section below or on Facebook what stores you would like to see take over the building.
Comments (5)
I too would like to see a Trader Joes, With BJ's and the Cosco planned it would be great to see a Theater back in Yorktown.
I've had a few comments on my FaceBook page regarding this. One great idea was Laser Tag. There's more than enough room in the space for creativity in design, and it would be something for all ages, not just young kids and not just adults. It's something that everyone in the community could do and would keep kids off the streets and would be a place that everyone could go to have fun - even families could go there to do something fun together!
We've got enough grocery stores around here. We don't need any more. We need something for the kids and teens to do to keep them out of hanging out in gas station parking lots. A combination roller skating rink / ice rink would be cool. Maybe a movie theater like the one up in the South Hills Mall that is extremely cheap and shows older movies. No more big retail chain stores. Our sense of community needs to stay intact. We need to help support our local small business owners. The town could buy the building from the A&P and it could be used for an indoor flea market. Or, even better, tear it down and create a community garden with a couple benches and a fountain. Something peaceful. There are so many better ideas than more grocery stores and retail stores. Think small and local, not big and corporate.
Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fairway
whole foods,
DeCiccos like the one in Brewster