Days after announcing their Reader’s Choice award of Best Specialty Food Shop In The Hudson Valley by Hudson Valley Magazine, Stella’s Fine Market next announced that they were closing by the end of of the month, citing an unsustainable rent increase.

“I didn’t want to end our stay on Main Street,” said owner Nikki Hayes to her Instagram audience, “but our rent increase became something I simply couldn’t afford any longer. But I’m choosing to see this as a blessing in disguise.”

Nikki’s husband, Adam. Photo Credit: Stella’s Fine Market

The closure announcement was contained in a post featuring Nikki and her daughter, Stella. On posts like this, the reader holds their breath a little, because posts like that are either re-introduction posts, or bad news. It was the latter: “I’ve been dreading writing this post…We will be closing Stella’s at the end of this month. It’s hard to put into words what this little shop has meant to me all these years & what you have meant to me.”

Stella’s Fine Market was known for tightly curated ingredients, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages that Nikki used in her everyday life.

“If you’ve ever appreciated what I built here, maybe some, almost 5,000 of you! who are following can help me find the perfect next step. I’m looking ahead with excitement and intention. I’m ready to bring everything I’ve learned curating emerging brands, building customer trust, and spotting what’s next in food and drink to a bigger platform. With a background in procurement, merchandising, packaging design and deep knowledge of the non-alcoholic space. I’d love to work with a brand that shares my values and building community through great products. I’m not rushing into the next thing I’m waiting for the right thing. The kind of role where I can keep doing this work I love, with impact and integrity, just on a larger scale.”

For a request for “pudding in fancy glasses," went in search of “fancy cocoa powder” in order to homemake such pudding (turns out, an unsweetened dark chocolate bar or chips were called for), but found all of this goodness instead:

The homemade apple pie at Stella’s Fine Market, and the make-your-own version in a jar.
The stacked rack at Utensil Shops that we didn’t know we needed but there it is solving the counter problems, as well as the popcorn 🍿 bucket. “Everything you didn’t know you needed and more on Main Street! I love that Yamazaki Home - got one in my kitchen too! Happy Thanksgiving!