How did this happen, and what is available?

James tells A Little Beacon Blog (who is a regular customer of his strawberry rhubarb): “Back in 2024, Annie approached me at the Beacon Farmers Market and asked if I would be interested in having my award winning line of vegan ice cream and sorbet offed at The Beacon Chocolate Studio. Already up to my eyeballs in new orders I said thanks so much for the offer but I can’t do it. Annie asked again in 2025 and I had to say yes. It’s been a pleasure to have my New Confectioner vegan ice-cream in her shop. I’ve been a vendor at the three time Best Of The Hudson Valley winning Beacon Farmers Market since 2011, and I am so proud to be a small part of that. Annie just stocked up with our most indulgent flavors including Matcha, Strawberry Rhubarb, Turkish Chocolate Coffee and more. Thanks Again Annie, You Rock!!”

Example of a supportive comment at the top, followed by a insulting comment below. For businesses in Beacon or anywhere, slings at pricing for local business is tiring and can be more casually targeted at businesses run by people of color.

Last week, ALBB covered the opioid crisis related bankruptcy of Rite Aid as being the reason for their bare shelves. With the exception of the ice cream freezer, which employees said was broken. In response, one local reader, Lesly Deschler Canossi, commented via Instagram: “and leaving key food and molile pricing as only option on ice cream is just wrong.” She most likely meant the “Mobil” gas station in that typo. What is not a typo, however, is her intent of branding an image of pricing, which is misleading and untrue. The price of ice cream is nearly equal between Key Food and Rite Aid, with Rite Aid at times having the higher price.

Before we get started in this pricing deep dive, it must be recognized that there are people in Beacon who like to throw these punches at Key Food and Mobil, which are both locally owned by families who live in the community. Key Food is Yemeni American owned, and Mobil is South Asian American owned. When members of the Beacon community speak their rude remarks, is it racist? Islamophobic? Hangry?

It can’t be hangry since this is not the first time somebody took a swipe at Key Food for no reason. It has happened during a City Council Meeting, when Dennis Pavlov demanded that a bigger grocery store move in, for instance.

Are Local Contributions Recognized?

NAMI Ribbon PSA Campaign for Mental Health Awareness hanging outside key food on their trees, when the City Of Beacon denied NAMI from hanging them.

Key Food gives on a regular basis to organizations of Beacon, but are they recognized? This includes Key Food’s civic contributions, like when they donated 10’ of their parking lot years ago to be turned into mulched beds for trees to widen the feel of the sidewalk. Key Food also allowed PSA ribbons for the NAMI (National Alliance On Mental Illness) white ribbon campaign in May, when Beacon’s City Administrator Chris White denied NAMI the ability to hang them on lamp posts. The City of Beacon was the only municipality in this region who denied NAMI. The ribbons were everywhere else. Key Food allowed the ribbons on the trees in their parking lot, so that NAMI could have some representation in Beacon.

Facts: The Real Price Of Ice Cream

Let’s look at the real important issue here: the price of ice cream in the freezer.

In a Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough vs cookie dough comparison, Key Food was $6.79 and Rite Aid was $7.29. Other flavors varied, where Key Food was higher than Rite Aid by a handful of cents. Mobil, which is really a convenience store owned by Shah and not attached to Mobil, came in at $8.99. This means Mobil (or, Shah) can only buy ice cream in much smaller quantities than either Key Food or Rite Aid, giving him less buying power to pass a deal to customers.

Of Talenti, Key Food is $.60 higher than Rite Aid. Hardly sticker shock.

Discounts and Deals On Ice Cream

What also must be discussed are the discounts and deals on ice cream and other items at both Rite Aid and Key Food. Both offer deals with a VIP card. Rite Aid makes you use your card to get the deal. Which is a loss of your private data. Rite Aid then profits off your data by selling it to data mining companies who then hit your email inbox with personalized, flavored spam.

Key Food in Beacon just scans their own card, and off you go with your bonus special deal. Last week at Key Food, Haagen-Daz Ice Cream was 2 for $8 on Assorted Flavors, which comes to $4 per pint.

When you’re getting the coupon, be sure you read the label. If you grab a box that isn’t covered in the deal, then you’re not going to get the deal. Like these Haagen-Daz Vanilla Milk Chocolate bars. You get 2 for $8 of the box of 3. Not the box of 6 mini versions.

Ok? Ok.

And don’t miss the sale on Stone Ridge Creamery ice cream, where it’s $3.99 today.