Food, Wine and People News
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1542
Lots doing in the Village of Scarsdale this week.
Spotted: Jalen Brunson and the Knicks were enjoyed dinner at One Rare Steakhouse on East Parkway this weekend. Brunson moved to Scarsdale recently and residents are thrilled to have this star in town.
Moved: Also on East Parkway, Scarsdale Wine Merchants has moved from their previous location on Depot Place. The large new location has plenty of wines and spirits and is just a few doors down from the former home of Zachys. Owner Kristie Petrullo Campbell is excited to welcome you to the new store and plans to start weekend tastings soon.
Opened: On Tuesday September 22, Capretta Italian restaurant celebrated their opening in the location previously occupied by Akai. Mayor Justin Arest, Deputy Mayor Dara Gruenberg and Trustee Tim Foley cut the ribbon to make it official. The restaurant is brought to you by the Z Hospitality Group, who also own Mediterraneo, Terra and Eastend in Greenwich, Aurora In Rye and several more eateries in Connecticut. The restaurant has been an instant hit.
Coming Soon: At the September 22, 2026 meeting of the Scarsdale Village Board, Core Burn Pilates received permission to open a 1,539 square foot studio at 100 Christie Place in the space formerly occupied by the Bank of America. Caffe Nero, a coffee shop and cafe will also open at the corner of East Parkway and Chirstie Place.
Fresh Finds at Sprouts: Why Giving Westchester’s Newest Grocery Store a Second Look Pays Off
- Details
- Written by: Anu Lall
- Hits: 1596
I walked into Sprouts Farmers Market—the new grocery store that just opened in our midst on North Central Ave in Hartsdale—and I have a confession to make: I was immediately underwhelmed.
As I walked around, I was struck by the unfamiliarity of it all. Most of us in the neighborhood are deeply wedded to our habitual stores. We have our routines at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, H Mart, Stop & Shop, and DeCicco’s. To step into a totally new layout felt, frankly, a bit disorienting. Where were my usual brands? Why didn't it look like the mega-markets I’m used to?
But then, I decided to take a breath, adjust my expectations, and walk the store with an open mind. Once I did, I quickly realized that Sprouts isn't trying to be a replica of our usual haunts—and that is exactly its charm.
Here is what I found when I gave it a real chance:
The Supplement Haven The absolute standout feature of the store is its health and wellness section. If you are someone who usually orders your vitamins and wellness products online, Sprouts is about to become your new best friend. I was thrilled to find shelves loaded with premium, hard-to-find brands like MaryRuth’s, Nordic Naturals, and Carlson, alongside an impressive array of collagen, peptides, and Omegas. It is a fantastic, curated selection you simply won't find easily at standard supermarkets.
The "Goldilocks" Size If I had to compare it to anything, Sprouts is closest in size and spirit to a Trader Joe’s, or perhaps a boutique Whole Foods on a slightly smaller scale. It is the perfect-sized store for the mid-to-small size shopper. The packaging and quantities of most of their products are a great antidote to Costco; it is ideal for shoppers who just need a quick restock and don’t necessarily need to buy in bulk to feed an army.
Clean, Fresh, and Friendly: The shop feels brand new, spotlessly clean, and inviting, anchored by a genuinely friendly staff. While I didn't get an overwhelming "farmers market" vibe as the name might suggest, the fresh offerings more than hold their own.
The Staples: They have a great fresh coffee selection and an adequate row of bulk dispensers for pulses and grains.
The Produce: The fruits and vegetables are fresh, bright, and reasonably priced.
Convenience: The ready-made foods and bakery sections are adequate and well-curated—not overstocked to the point of being overwhelming, but with enough variety to grab a quick, easy meal.
The Verdict: Is it going to replace your massive weekend grocery haul? Maybe not. But if you are looking for top-tier wellness supplements, reasonably priced fresh produce, and a highly manageable, clean shopping experience without the overwhelming scale of a warehouse store, Sprouts is a fantastic addition to our community.
Next time you are driving down Central Ave, skip the usual routine for a day. Walk in with an open mind—you might just find your new favorite neighborhood gem!
Sprouts Farmers Market
N. Central Ave. & Dalewood Dr.
393 N. Central Ave. Suite B
Hartsdale, NY 10530
914-200-0387
Store Hours: 7:00AM –10:00PM
About the Author: Anu Lall lives in Scarsdale with her family and is deeply passionate about local neighborhood life and community events. She is a licensed real estate agent with Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty.
Paper Community Calendar is Back: PTC to Print Calendars After Community Pushback
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1360
(We received the following letter from Rokaya Hassaball, President of the Scarsdale PTC)
Following community feedback, the Scarsdale Parent Teacher Council (PTC) is pleased to announce that the printed Community Calendar is returning this year after all. We heard from many families about how much this Scarsdale tradition means to them, and thanks to the generosity of our returning and new sponsors, we were able to move forward with printing. Calendars will be distributed to households in the coming weeks. We're grateful to our community for speaking up, and to our sponsors for making this possible.
Returning Sponsors
Eye Gallery, Dr. Michael Rosen
The Zach & Heather Harrison Team
Julia B Fee Sotheby's
Houlihan Lawrence
New Sponsors
The Scarsdale Foundation
Vivian Lem, Insurance Agent at State Farm
The Laura Miller Team at Houlihan Lawrence
Best Regards,
Rokaya Hassaballa
Scarsdale PTC President, 25-26
Is Scarsdale’s Paper Community Calendar Gone for Good? Residents Want It Back
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1629
Another Scarsdale tradition may have fallen victim to the prevalence of digital over paper.
This week residents learned that the paper Scarsdale Community Calendar, listing school and village events, would now only be produced in digital form. For those wishing to access the calendar, you can do so here.
For many years, the arrival of the paper calendar in resident’s mailboxes signaled the beginning of fall. Since it listed both school and village events, and was mailed to every household in Scarsdale, it was viewed by some as a community builder.
The calendar was produced by the PT Council and the costs of printing and mailing it were underwritten by local businesses. The chief sponsor for many years was Scarsdale Security Systems which has now been sold to a national company.
We spoke to PT Council President Rokaya Hassaballa and she explained why the decision to go digital was made.
She said, “The decision to move to a digital calendar was triggered by the loss of one of our main sponsors, and finding replacement sponsors has been particularly challenging. That said, the online community calendar has a lot of advantages. Many events change or shift during the middle of the year, and once the physical calendar goes to print, we can't make any changes, the digital calendar is much better for accommodating changes. We also wanted to move toward a greener solution, since fewer people were using the printed version and many copies ended up being discarded.”
However, now that there has been so many calls for the return of the printed version from community members, Hassaballa says that the PT Council is reconsidering. She said, “We hear the community and we understand how important of a tradition this is, so we are having an internal discussion and reaching out to our sponsors to evaluate our options for funding. We should come to a decision soon, and I will update you once we do.”
What do you think? Comment below.
Latimer Calls for Detention Centers to be Closed
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 2081
From the outside, the building looked like an Amazon distribution center. But once he was able to peer through the windows, Congressman Latimer saw that there were people, not packaged goods, stored inside. That was the sobering reality Latimer confronted during a July 31 visit to the Delaney Detention Center in Newark with Bronx Congressman and colleague Ritchie Torres.
It took Latimer and Torres three weeks to get an appointment to visit the facility that is run by private contractor GEO and is one of the largest detention centers in the country, holding approximately 800 people. There Latimer found the detainees housed 9 to a room in triple bunkbeds. He saw them staring into their hands and sensed they had been “stripped of their humanity.”
Ironically, Delaney Hall was originally built to be used as a halfway house for recovering drug addicts. According to the NY Times, it was named for Geraldine Owen Delaney, known to some by her initials — which spell “God,” a nod to her work in the addiction recovery space — and known to others as “Mrs. D.” To her nieces and nephews, she was Gerry. Now those descendants are asking for the facility to be closed or for the name to be changed.
The day after Latimer’s visit, there was a death at Delaney Hall and the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey has announced an investigation into possible civil rights violations. Latimer said that when Congress goes back into session in August he plans to call for an investigation as well.
Latimer, who ran the Westchester County Prison System when he served as County Executive, said he does not believe in privatized prisons who do not have the same accountability as public facilities.
He also does not believe that mass detention centers are a solution to the countries immigration issues. In fact, he said, our country needs immigrants and needs workers. He said, “They are a part of the economic force of our area…. You go into restaurant kitchens, gardening businesses, and nursing homes and you meet lots of folks who are recent immigrants. They have work visas and they pay taxes… they are not the rapists, criminals and murderers that Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin would have you believe they are.
Many of these immigrants came to the United States seeking asylum from dangerous countries and now they are being picked up by masked ICE agents, without badges, and without the proper training to learn how to de-escalate conflict in the streets. These agents are handed billy clubs and told to go out and crack heads.”
People with dark skin and those from other countries are unfairly targeted. It’s racism. He said, “I think there is a way to have a strong economy and to work humanely together – and not create armed camps.”
He offered an ominous thought about the concept of people being rounded up without cause and shipped to detention centers…. “Who is to decide that other people won’t be housed there – who is to say that in the future we won’t be housed there for expressing our views?”
Here is Latimer speaking about detention centers on the floor of U.S. Congress:
