Longtime horse, livestock feed store, Hicksville Agway, to close, citing high cost of hay, grain
The Chestnut Vale Feed Inc./ Hicksville Agway Company, on Wednesday. The store will be closing its doors, citing high business costs. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Hicksville Agway, a longtime horse and livestock feed store, will be closing its doors at the end of the month due to the high cost of business, owners of the shop said in a letter to customers.
The Agway, which also does business as Chestnut Vale Feed Inc., will be closing its business on July 31 after getting its start in the 1960s, according to the store’s website. The shop, located at 150 Duffy Ave. in Hicksville, cited the growing cost of supplies and other business expenses for the closure.
"We are deeply sorry to announce that due to increasing costs of supplies, grain, hay, shavings and business expenses, we will unfortunately be permanently closing our doors," Josh Reale, owner of the retailer, said in a June 17 letter posted on the business’ website.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your continued support and business over the years," the letter read.
Reale could not immediately be reached for additional comment on the closure.
Charles Razenson, president of the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce and owner of custom embroidery and screen-printing business Unique Impressions Inc., said he was sad to hear the news of the Agway’s planned closing.
"It was a great place to go long before there were Home Depot or Lowe’s," Razenson said.
Razenson said stores like the Agway have had to compete with major, big box retailers who can buy in large quantities and pass on savings to consumers.
Businesses like the Agway are "buying [product] for what Home Depot and Lowe’s are selling it for because of their ability to buy in such bulk," he said. "It’s putting an unfair disadvantage on these little guys."
Razenson, 72, a longtime resident of the area, said he remembered visiting the Agway as a child to buy hamsters or other pet supplies. At the time, he said, the store would buy back baby hamsters, a deal Razenson readily took advantage of.
"I was getting 50 cents a hamster," Razenson recalled fondly.
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