"People should patronize local businesses." So said Dave Mendell, co-owner of Holiday Farms, the locally owned and operated supermarket located on 374 Roslyn Road.

Those sentiments could be expressed by any one of the many business owners in the village. But for Dave and his brother, Lenny, they have a special ring to them. The brothers are Roslyn natives who also operate three Key Food stores in Queens County.

However, the Holiday Farms store is special to them. That's not just because they are Roslyn natives, but also because they feel that such stores are the last of their kind.

Supermarkets nowadays tend to be owned by large, multinational corporations, whose headquarters are often located oceans apart from American shores. Since Holiday Farms is locally owned and operated, it gives the co-proprietors a special incentive to provide quality service to local customers.

The Mendell brothers began operating Holiday Farms on its current location five years ago. The site has been home to various supermarkets, including a Gristedes, since the mini mall opened in the 1950s.

"It's hard to find supermarkets that are locally owned," Dave Mendell said. Other unique characteristics of Holiday Farms, Mendell added, are its policy of home delivery, its "old fashioned" catering, its custom butchering, the concentration on quality ingredients, including homemade food, and, in general, a desire to please customers. "We'll get [the customers] whatever they want," Mendell said.

"This place is special for us," Mendell continued. As opposed to the Key Food stores, the brothers make their own ads for Holiday Farms. They also specialize in gift baskets, which are especially popular at this time of year. "It's a civilized place," Mendell said of the Roslyn Road establishment, as he looked over the traffic on this busy Friday on the week before Christmas.

In addition to the usual functions of a supermarket, Holiday Farms is also heavily involved in charity work. Over the past few years, Holiday Farms has contributed food stuffs, gift certificates and dinners to, among other local organizations, the Heights School, South Park Civic Association, Old Westbury Golf and Country Club, The Wheatley School, Roslyn Hadassah, The Assembly of Prayer Baptist Church, Sisterhood of Temple Judea, the Nassau County Museum of Art, the Sid Jacobson JCC, and the Roslyn Public Schools.

When asked what could be done to ease the plight of businesses in the Roslyn area, Mendell, like most business owners, mentioned the parking situation. "We could always use more parking," he said. Mendell also noted that Holiday Farms has valet parking on weekends and during the December holiday season.

But mostly Mendell is counting on some Roslyn patriotism by local residents.

"People should patronize local businesses," he reiterated. "We're here to stay."