PINE BUSH – Shoppers at the Pine Bush Agway have known for a while now that something was wrong. Popular pet food brands had disappeared from the shelves. In fact the whole store was emptying out. So the news that owner Nick Fitzpatrick was in financial trouble — due to a misadventure in the wood pellet market — provided an explanation for what was obviously a business in distress.

But now there's a new chapter in the story of the Agway just beginning. Store Manager Ed Garcia and General Manager Dan Armida are working out the details on a deal to buy the business from Nick Fitzpatrick and not only keep the Agway alive, but grow the business to make it a really thriving part of the Pine Bush scene.

Dan Armida said, "We're starting to redo the store. We want to turn it into a really great pet supply store, everything for dogs, cats, small animals. Our plans involve live animals, eventually. Chicks, bunnies…it will be a big pet store. We're thinking of having a pet grooming facility, so customers can drop off their dog, or cat, and have it groomed while they're shopping elsewhere.

"And, it goes without saying, we will still be concentrating on farm supplies. Farm deliveries still generate most of the income here."

The plans don't stop there. "We'll be adding to the Lawn and Garden side as well. We'll have all the mulches, the top soil, plants, and seeds, and we're planning on working with local people on that."

Then there's the birds. "Pine Bush has a lot of avid birdwatchers. Bird feed and feeders have always done well here, so we'll be working hard on our selection there as well."

Armida sees the Pine Bush Agway as giving local shoppers another chance to get out of having to drive down to Middletown. "We're looking at adding work clothing, plus some hunting stuff. Other things like that, so that people can shop locally, right here in Pine Bush. If we can do that, we also want our price point to be competitive. With fuel prices dropping right now I see this as an opportunity to lower our prices too."

Armida says that he and Ed Garcia are receiving a lot of support from the community. "All our farm accounts are pulling for us. We have such close, personal relationships there. They all have our cell phone numbers, so they call us directly to place their orders. And one reason for that is that they know we're going to do it right."

The hope is that the change of management can be completed within three or four weeks.

"We're looking to move quickly. Nick is eager to get out, we're all in agreement about what we want to do, so there shouldn't be anything to hold it up." And the future?

"This business did one million in sales last quarter of 2008," says Armida. That was with just us two guys working seven days a week trying to make this work. We think we can do better, and given a chance, we will."

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