The Catskill Chronicle

Story by Jeremy Gorelick – Photos courtesy of Jeremy Gorelick and Jim Gordon

LIBERTY, NY – The South Asian Grocery Store, located at 10 Main Street in downtown Liberty, celebrated its grand opening earlier this season. The store, operated by Syed Jafri and his family, sells a wide variety of Indian and other South Asian spices along with prepared fresh and frozen foods.

Jafri chose to open the grocery store after seeing that Sullivan County residents – both year-round residents and seasonal residents and tourists alike – demanded an easily-accessible location where they could purchase fresh spices and South Asian groceries.

Syed Jafri could be called a “workaholic” who lives by the twin mottos that “With hard work, anything is possible in this great country” and that “Only the best is good enough.” (see photo at left)

The oldest of eight children, Jafri expressed a passion for learning and entrepreneurship early on; he received a degree in statistics and economics from the University of Punjab in Pakistan and continued on to further training at the University of Vienna and in other hotel and hospitality management programs across Europe and at Cornell University.

Upon graduation, he was offered a job at the Helmsley Hotel in Manhattan, where he worked as Head of the Housekeeping Department. Simultaneous with this, he purchased a dry cleaning plant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which grew into a nine-store chain across Manhattan.

Six years ago, the Jafri family retired and permanently relocated to the Catskills, where they had maintained a secondary residence. Syed and his wife Leopoldine purchased the Catskill Motel, which they continue to operate in addition to the grocery.

The South Asian Grocery celebrated its grand opening on May 1, 2010, with dozens of supporters and representatives from the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Liberty Chamber of Commerce looking on.

The store is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and by appointment at any other time. It is also helpful to look at their website, www.southasiangrocery.info, to find out about specials and new retail goods. Feel free to contact the store owner directly at (845) 295-4566 or at the Motel at (845) 292-6040.

*Note – The contributor’s personal favorite, ghost chili (bhut joloka pepper) powder is available here. It’s acclaimed by many food experts as the world’s hottest chili!