Irvington-based Mrs. Green”™s Natural Market has opened its 10th store in Westchester County, across from Rye City Hall.
The 9,700-square-foot store at 1037 Boston Post Road is the organic and natural grocer”™s 15th in New York state.
Pat Brown, CEO of Natural Market Food Groups, the parent company of Mrs. Green”™s, said construction on the store took about four months. It offers a fresh juice and coffee bar, prepared meals, vitamins and organic groceries.
The closest organic grocery competition is the Whole Foods Market a mile up Boston Post Road in Port Chester.
“We think this is a place where there was a great opportunity for natural food,” Brown said. “We”™re filling a niche that isn”™t yet filled.”
The chain also operates locations in Briarcliff Manor, Eastchester, Hartsdale, Katonah, Larchmont, Mount Kisco, Scarsdale, Tarrytown and Yorktown Heights as well as Fairfield County stores in Fairfield, New Canaan and Stamford. As part of its ongoing plans for expansion in the New York area, Mrs. Green”™s most recently opened a store in Manhattan”™s West Village in August.
Last October, Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union filed 13 charges against the Mount Kisco store accusing management of attempting to squelch attempts by employees to unionize in May 2013.
The store allegedly cut hours of workers planning to unionize and used surveillance to monitor employees”™ union activities. Ten employees were eventually fired, leading to months of picketing outside the store. Eight of the workers were eventually rehired.
Then-CEO Robin Michel stepped down from her position in May 2014, and Brown assumed the role two months later.
Brown said at the Rye store”™s grand opening Oct. 16 all unfair labor practice charges have been cleared. He expects representatives from the United Food and Commercial Workers union would request a vote in the near future.
“Our associates have the right to choose and they are going to be given the opportunity to do so,” he said.
Store manager Amzad Latiff said the Rye location has 75 employees, 50 of which are full time and 25 part time. Roughly 30 percent are from the immediate Rye area, while others were transferred from other company stores.
“We are just excited to be a part of the community,” Latiff said shortly after doors opened.
The retail location in Rye was previously home to a CVS Pharmacy as well as Lester”™s clothing store that now operates out of the Rye Ridge Plaza in Rye Brook.
The city purchased the property for $6.2 million in 2006 with plans to house a new police station and courthouse that would have cost Rye roughly $25 million to build. The costly plans were eventually abandoned, and the city sold the property to Long Island-based real estate and gasoline distribution company Bill Wolf Petroleum Corp. for $5.6 million in May 2013.
The Jericho company, operating as 1037 Boston Post Rd LLC, still owns the 0.69-acre property, according to the city land records, and it is leasing the space to Mrs. Green”™s.
Rye Mayor Joe Sack said he was happy to see building filled once again.
“I know that I and others have waited with growing anticipation for months, as we have observed the continuing improvements to the new location across from City Hall,” Sack said. “We look forward to Mrs. Green”™s as a fine addition to Rye”™s retail community, and all the great opportunities for Rye shoppers.”
Mrs. Green”™s, which opened its first supermarket in Briarcliff Manor in 1990, was acquired by Canadian grocer Planet Organic in 2007. After declaring bankruptcy three years later, its assets were acquired by Toronto-based equity firm Catalyst Capital Group. Natural Markets Food Group also operates Canadian-based grocers Planet Organic Markets and Richtree Natural Markets Restaurants.
Mrs. Green”™s has made expansion a point of emphasis in recent years, and now operates stores in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Illinois.
Grocery manager Lentz Boyer, who has been with the company for four months, said he enjoys working in Rye because of its expansive public parking and overall welcoming attitude.
“The people are so kind here,” Boyer said. “People said ”˜Good morning”™ and the town is so clean.”
