After nearly two months without a grocery store, shopping carts were again rolling in Cross River on Friday after the anxiously anticipated grand opening of the new DeCicco’s Market, which replaced the old D’Agostino that anchored Cross River Plaza for three decades.

The shopping center was a bustling beehive of commerce as residents swarmed in for their first peek, with parking at a premium and the occasional exchange of “hello, neighbor!” overheard amidst the deli counter gridlock.

“Everything is going very well and we’ve been consistently busy all day,” said co-owner Christina DeCicco-Capriotti, who supervised the store’s opening.  “Feedback from customers has been very good. They seem happy with the pricing and they’re glad to see it cleaner and brighter in here.”

The new market boasts such specialties as a gourmet cheese gallery, smorgasboards of hot and cold prepared foods and a selection of some 450-500 mostly craft beers.  Lagerheads will also soon be able to refill their “growlers” from a selection of eight local draft brews including several from Captain Lawrence in Pleasantville, founded by John Jay alum and South Salem native Scott Vaccaro.

Floor managers were also dispatched across the store taking suggestions and stocking requests throughout the day.

Customers eagerly embraced DeCicco’s as a welcome improvement from its predecessor.

“There is no comparison,” commented customer Ellen Elias of South Salem, who by noon had already made her second visit to the new market.  “D’Ags wasn’t a supermarket. In fact, I don’t know anybody who shopped there. This is like ‘Extreme Makeover: Supermarket Edition.’”

Elias and her husband, Kenny, previously drove to Turco’s or Wilton, CT to shop and were thrilled to finally have a quality market in town.

“I woke up, watched Train on The Today Show and came straight here,” she said. “We might even be back for dinner and we’ll definitely be back tomorrow for our rotisserie chicken.”

Elizabeth R. of Ridgefield, was returning home from Katonah and doesn’t typically shop on this side of the stateline, but was pleasantly surprised when she stopped in with her daughter to stock up on hurricane supplies.

“We were just passing through, but seeing how nice it is I’ll probably be back. It was just never a draw here before.”

DeCicco-Capriotti expected heavy volume to continue through the weekend—especially for those buying water and batteries.

“We’ve been keeping up fulfilling orders, taking care of customer requests and checking out customers,” she added.  “And we have all-new cashiers the morning shift.”

Cross River is the 8th location for the family-owned chain, which also owns markets in Brewster and Jefferson Valley as well as Southern Westchester and Rockland.