Yorktown heights or Katonah?

[Asil65]

Thanks Newtoli,
So there is some good shopping in Mt Kisco? What kind of stores? I am so looking forward to being able to shop in nicer stores. What makes you choose Katonah over Yorktown Heights?

[bmwguydc]

Mount Kisco has a collection of shops, some chains like Gap, Banana Republic, Borders, etc. mixed with local shops like the bicycle shop and local clothiers. The area has undergone a renaissance in recent years, having attracted many new businesses in areas that had been a little neglected and some damaged by floods during a tropical storm in the 1990s. The net result is a large collection of small to medium sized shops and restaurants along two main thoroughfares, Main Street and South Moger Avenue.

Between Mount Kisco and Bedford Hills, there are other stores on Route 117, including Target, Kohl's, supermarkets, and a couple of smaller shopping plazas along the way. There are also a few car dealerships along Route 117 in Bedford Hills and Mount Kisco, and several more on Kisco Avenue. It's convenient since most makes/models can be easily serviced in Mount Kisco, which is a bonus in Katonah since there are only a handful of repair shops and one franchised dealership (Saab & Chevrolet-Hummer) in town. BMW, Toyota, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, and Volvo are in Mount Kisco; Acura, Honda (despite the name being Mt. Kisco), Ford and Mazda are in Bedford Hills; and Mercedes-Benz is in Goldens Bridge. For more exotic makes, Greenwich has most franchises covered, from Bentley to Maserati.

Katonah, by contrast, frowns upon chain stores and has local shops, some of which span generations and some that are newer. Mixed among these shops are restaurants, which makes Katonah Avenue and parts of Edgemont and The Parkway one of the nicest downtown areas in Westchester.

[dma1250]

Mt Kisco is one of the only towns around that has successfully mixed "big-box" and small retail in a "main street" setting, having big chains and little shops all on the same street, with public parking neatly tucked into the town 'park' in between the two main shopping streets. It is by far the best shopping town around. As BMWguydc said, it has had a major boom in the last few years and there are a lot of new stores and good restaurants in town. Sadly, the rising rents have also forced out a number of small places that I loved (like the kosher deli and 2 cool toy stores). But it remains one of the few towns where one can stroll the sidewalk and go to a large variety of shops. We go to Mt Kisco all the time.

Unfortunately, Route 117 north of town is a typical "strip" and is jammed with big box megastores and mini-strips of smaller stores. It is a major eyesore, and the traffic is nasty due to all of the cars pulling in and out, but it is blessedly not too long. It is one of the only such strips in northern Westchester, along with Route 6 in Cortlandt and part of Route 202 in Yorktown. Fortunately, it is not too hard to simply avoid them.

[Asil65]

Thanks bmwguy and dma. Sounds like some pretty good shopping in Mt. Kisco. I too despise strip malls and try to avoid them at all cost. Have a good rest of your Sunday.

[bmwguydc]

One place to definitely go to in Mount Kisco, on South Moger, is Connie's Bakery & General Store. It's completely a philanthropic organization, with all profits benefiting various charities. And, the treats are good!