Adams Fairacre Farms

Ralph and Mary Adams borrowed $500 in 1919 to buy 50 acres on Dutchess Turnpike and start selling produce to other retailers. What started as a produce stand grew because customers kept asking for more: first cheese and meat, then a full deli, until gradually it became one of the Hudson Valley's most-visited grocery stores, with produce, a bakery, a rotisserie deli, a seafood counter, a cheese section, a flower shop, and a garden center all under one roof.

That growth came from four generations responding to what customers wanted, not a corporate expansion plan. Nearly every department carries something made or grown within a short drive: Hudson Valley apples, local honey, regional cheeses, vegetables from neighboring farms.