Cousin's Mini Market, back and better than ever

WASSAIC— Ask almost anyone in the Harlem Valley and chances are they know about Cousin’s, whether the café and bakery in Wingdale or the mini-market in Wassaic. Well, that mini-market in Wassaic has recently gone through a renovation, and now it offers the market and so much more.

In addition to the gas station and convenience store, Cousin’s Mini Market has a café, bakery, cappuccino and coffee bar and even Wi-Fi, along with a comfy seating section that invites customers to sit and stay a while.

Most enticing of all, perhaps, is original owners Tony and Vicki Robustelli are back, after having sold the business more than a decade ago. They opened the business originally, yes, with their cousins, and owned it for about 18 years. Now that they’re back it’s just the two of them who own the shop. They also own and operate Cousin’s Café in Wingdale, which they’ve had for about a dozen years. But right now the focus is on reintroducing the community to the mini-market.

“It’s exciting. We’re very glad to be back, we missed the community and there’s a lot going on in Wassaic right now,†Vicki said. “I love to cook and I love to bake. I oversee it all and I know how to do it all and then I have a chef come in here and show him how to do it. It’s a mixture of [our talents]. All food is baked on the premises and the prices are reasonable.

“We were out of this business for some years and we really missed it. We really did,†she said. “I love Wassaic, it’s a great little town. We’ve been in the same house here for 35 years, and now this place is really starting to come together, with Maxon Mills and Luther Auction Barn, and I like being a part of that.â€

“It’s nice being back for all of the local stuff,†agreed Tony. “I always felt it’s good to give the community a local concept, and here, with the Wi-Fi and the bakery and the cappuccino, it’s just a social gathering, and that’s what we wanted to do is to give it that feel. Now people, instead of spending a lot of money, have a place to go out, a destination.

“It’s definitely different, and more than just gas, and that’s what I like about it,†he added. “We wanted to offer the community a place to get together. It’s worked out like that in Wingdale.â€

Cousin’s has a full kitchen, and gets daily deliveries of fresh produce, meats and other staples. It offers hot sit-down or on-the-go breakfast, and lunch, with over-stuffed sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes and of course, fresh baked goods. It also has a daily Cousin’s Senior Citizens Appreciation Special, with a breakfast of two eggs, home fries, toast and coffee for $2.99 and lunch, including a build-your-own sandwich with a side of potato or macaroni salad and a bottle of water for $4.99. Cousin’s also prepares dishes made-to-order and offers full catering services. Soon the mini-market plans on having its liquor and cigarette licenses, as well.

In terms of working together, as a husband-wife duo, Vicki said the partnership has been a good one.

“He has his strong points and I have my strong points,†she said. “It kind of balances out. He does the big stuff and I come behind him and do all the little details.â€

Whatever the arrangement, the result is clearly successful. The Robustelli family has been working together for years. Their first store was in Amenia in 1977, then it was over to Dover, then to Millerton for a pizza business before eventually winding up in Wingdale. Tony said he’s just glad to be back working in the town he calls home.

“It feels great,†he said. “Because as a storekeeper you meet a lot of people, being there for 25 years you develop relationships with people. Their kids grow up, go to college, and then come back, that kind of thing. That’s what’s nice about being back. It’s nice seeing all the locals again, because even though we live here we don’t see each other necessarily. That little neighborhood feel, that’s what I missed.â€

To check out Cousin’s, log onto cousinsminimarket.com or call 845-877-3672. Cousin’s Mini Market is located on Route 22 in the hamlet of Wassaic, just north of the Tenmile River Train Station on Sinpatch Road.

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