Doing Business in Chester Heights

Chester Heights, the pocket of Eastchester located where the Cross County Parkway meets the Hutch, boasts a cozy shopping and dining area that is little known by even its Eastchester and Bronxville neighbors. This residential enclave—bordering on Bronxville, Pelham, New Rochelle, and Mount Vernon—is home to the Eastchester Fire Department, a park and ballfield, and some 25 storefronts along New Rochelle Road, including several restaurants, a bagel shop, nail salons, and a bakery. 

According to some area business owners—as well as one previous owner—the neighborhood is great for business and has borne varied impact from the recession. While there has been some turnover over the past decade, other businesses have been thriving longer than that.

The Old-Timers 

 is an Italian-American Deli in business for 40 years. Lori Mariconda, who has owned J & G for the past nine years, reports that business hasn't appreciably been impacted by the downturned economy.

J & G's loyal following keeps things hopping at lunch, and its catering business is also robust with popular items including antipasto platters and wedges. The store carries a variety of prepared and packaged food and beverage items with an Italian accent, including bread, Italian sausage, and prosciutto brought up from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Mariconda revealed that in the next few weeks she'll bring in new signs, sandwich specials, and side dishes.

Across the street, has been in business 28 years, and owner Annie Travaglini has seen many ups and downs.

"We're feeling the recession. It's not as lucrative as it used to be," she says, but that its not only on account of the economy. "Now supermarkets and Home Depot sell flowers also, but they're a different quality. We're trying to bring some merchandise in that no one else in the area sells, like giftware and candles."

Currently, the bulk of Crimson Rose's business comes from telephone sales and locals shopping for everyday occasions, but the store also provides flowers for weddings and funerals.

As for location, Travaglini notes, "The neighborhood is great—I love the neighborhood," which, she says, hasn't changed much over the years. She's seen a liquor store and drugstore come and go, but overall food businesses have thrived. "We have quite a selection of food—you'll never starve here!" 

On the same block,  owner Joseph DeCicco admits that business "is down from last year" and attributes this in part to the recession as well as to the arrival of new competitors—namely, Fairway in Pelham and ShopRite in New Rochelle.

"People are shopping for lower prices, and we're constantly trying to lower prices as much as we can, but a lot of customers do understand we're not a big chain so we cannot compete item for item with ShopRite or Stop & Shop; they have bigger buying power and can buy things a lot cheaper,” he says.

However, DeCicco notes that the best selling points for his store are that there rarely are any checkout lines and that "we'll go out of our way to satisfy our customers." Moreover, DeCicco is committed to community service, including a rebate to the Tuckahoe schools when customers expressly request this of their cashier.

The Chester Heights supermarket is one of seven DeCicco stores in Westchester—all owned by the DeCicco family, including Joseph DeCicco's brother, son, and nephews. Their first supermarket, in Pelham, opened in 1984, and the Chester Heights location opened two years later.

Only about 30-40 percent of business comes from Chester Heights residents, DeCicco speculates, with the rest coming from neighboring municipalities. The store's proximity to two highways makes it a convenient stop on the commute home. 

"We did some remodeling last year—put in more freezer, dairy, and produce space and added a salad bar. We're trying to be old-fashioned and modern at the same time," DeCicco says.

New Kid on the Block

J. Ferraro's Pizzeria opened in November 2010, the third pizzeria in that location in the past 10 years (Deana's and Chester Heights Pizzeria being the predecessors). So far, owner Joseph Ferraro reports he's happy with how business has been going, with the majority of customers coming from local residents.

"It's like a roller coaster, it's up and down," but Chester Heights, he says, is "an excellent area; a nice, quiet area."

Ferraro's "only concern is parking." The meters allow only 15 minutes for a quarter, and the parallel parking in front of the store, as opposed to diagonal parking, limits the number of spots. The concern about meter costs to customers was echoed by Travaglini of Crimson Rose Florist.

To help boost business, Ferraro promotes the pizzeria/restaurant through ads and coupons in Clipper Magazine and he hopes that the vacant storefront next door will be occupied soon to help drive traffic.

Can an Ice Cream Parlor Succeed in Chester Heights?

In the spot next door to J. Ferraro's, there has been the opening and closing of two different ice-cream parlors in recent years—first Here's the Scoop, then which sold not only ice cream but also other items such as coffee drinks and biscotti.

Does this mean that ice-cream parlors are destined to fail in Chester Heights? Not so, said Marlaina Bertolacci, co-owner of the Main Street Sweets in Tarrytown and former co-owner of the Chester Heights location.

"We closed the Chester Heights location for personal reasons," Bertolacci explains, adding that the family demands on her and her single-mom sister/partner made running two locations too difficult.

The business in Chester Heights was good, she said, drawing from both Chester Heights residents and people coming from other areas, many of whom were familiar with the Tarrytown location. "I wish we could have stuck it out,” she says.

As for the fate of Here's the Scoop, Bertolacci reported that the owners of that location also closed the shop for personal reasons, as they relocated to the Boston area.