A Mount Kisco institution formally closed its doors this week.

The Farm, located at 21 S. Moger Ave., announced in mid-July it was closing, after being in business for more than 25 years. The store was a a popular destination for Mount Kisco residents and also people in Pleasantville, Chappaqua and Bedford.

The Kim family, which owned the store, blamed the economic recession for the closure.

“We’ve experienced big drop-off every year since the recession,” George Kim said back when the closure was first announced. “Business has simply not been good. There’s no other reason to it.”

Kim said the store had experienced drops in business before, but has usually recovered. Kim said he will miss his customers the most.

“It’s sad we are closing,” Kim said. “People are upset we are leaving. We feel we have been a small part of their families.”

Kim remembers meeting some of his customers as children and then watching them grow up, get married and have their own children.

Kim said other factors including inadequate parking and not enough attractions in Mount Kisco led to the closure.

“There are 17 banks in the village,” Kim said. “Why do we need so many? That doesn’t really draw customers into town.”

Skyrocketing rent costs and other expenses, along with competition from supermarkets, have made it almost impossible for mom and pop fruit stands to compete, Kim said. He also noticed people are just not cooking as much.

“Mom and dad, once their kids leave the house, prefer to go out to dinner,” Kim said. “We can’t keep raising our prices. You can only raise prices so much for certain things.”

Kim said Mount Kisco used to be a nice town, but over the last 20 years, it has changed, with small businesses getting squeezed out.

“Every time there’s an empty space, a bank goes in,” Kim said. “They are the only ones willing to pay all that rent.”

Despite being forced to go out of business, Kim said he will miss Mount Kisco and its people.

 

 

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