Peters Market

Wow, has this supermarket gone downhill. The steaks were all cut very thin, and from Mexico! Produce looks old. I’m going to be going be returning to Shoprite, which is too bad, I really wanted to support the little guy.

I stopped at this market while passing through the area and was pleasantly surprised to find such a friendly and nice market! The staff was warm and helpful, and I found several local offerings of both produce and meat. I will definitely stop in next time!

Jeremy Peters, the proprietor, refused to refund my $ 75 for two putrid filet mignon sleeves purchased just recently from his meat bin; although his butcher had taken them back from me in Peters’ absence, telling me to return when the boss was in for my money, & also explaining how meat is sometimes bacterially infected prior to kryopacking, etc. So at the Court of Small Claims in Ellenville I sued them for $ 3000 («Hitch your wagon to a star.» — Emerson), & needless to say they won; with a wink & a nod from the sitting judge to the senior Peters. Their lanky lawyer seemed to have stepped right out of the iconic Hank Ketcham cartoon, he was the living image of Dennis’ father; but hardly the Catskill Clarence Darrow. However, for only $ 25 I had had my day in court; all alone with my humble but forthright Anglo-​Saxon screed against their lanky lawyer’s Latinate legalisms. My loss was a well-​fought defeat, but that sickeningly sweet, septum-​searing stench from the Peters Market moldering meat is still with me. Almost incarnate, if you will.

The only reason I didn’t go for 5 stars is because the produce can sometimes «go» quickly after purchasing. It’s an issue I’ve noticed at other small markets too. Having said that, I love Peter’s. I never wait in line to check out, they have everything I’m looking for and quality service to back it up. I left my credit card once and they called me before I even made it home to let me know. It’s my grocery store of preference in the area.

Probably 2.5 stars would be more accurate but I have hope. I’ve tried to make this my main grocery place because I know it’s Mom & Pop, but I just can’t. I wish the inside looked as nice as the signage to start. The atmosphere is very rundown and reminds me of grocery stores I was forced to buy from when I lived in poorer sections of Brooklyn. Peter’s has some organic and some local, but you have to go around all the Kraft and Keebler’s to find it. The produce area is small and I get the feeling they are not catering to a customer base that is into vegetables. Their meat selection is decent and they have some local sources, but the fridge bins look like they are from the 1970’s and beyond keeping bateria free. I go to Adams in Kingston when I want really good produce and meat and to shop in a bright, clean space, but Peter’s is only 15 minutes from me. I wish they would look to Adam’s as more of a business model in order to attract more weekenders and local people who want quality, fresh foods and less processed junk. I admit I do get a kick out of all the green bakery goods around St. Patrick’s Day and the pink dyed confections they pull out for Easter, but otherwise I don’t even look at the baked goods. I have no idea how this place will survive when they have to compete with a new Walmart. They certainly can’t compete on price for all those Kraft and Keebler products, so my feeling is Peter’s will get smashed. I hope they don’t, but rather I hope they survive by offering this community a really good alternative to the Walmart model. There’s a niche in this town that needs to be filled, but I’m not sure Peter’s knows how to fill it.

I stopped here for a quick bit to eat while I was out and about, expecting that they’d have a deli department, which they have, but seemed to close up shop very early for the day. Fortunately, they had some pre-​assembled deli sandwiches and salads available. I bought a salsa turkey wrap, but the turkey tasted quite bland, and the overabundance of mayo in the wrap was not to my liking. I also bought a small fire roasted macaroni salad, but I found the mayo they used with the fire roasted tomatoes in the mac salad to be bland as well.