None of those Manhattan chains (I never saw Dags, RA or Gristedes in the Boros) were any good. They were glorified dirty supersized convenience stores. I lived in 718 land and felt sorry for the 212 peeps.😀
I was the opposite. I actually liked going in those stores because I would see stuff I didn't get near me in the Bronx.
My sister's first paying job was at a Red Apple in East Harlem. That may have been as far uptown as they went, I never saw them in the Bronx.
About 25 years ago I use to frequent one D'Agostino on the Upper East Side (Lexington and 76th), as it was close to my then-job. I went back there about a year ago when visiting a relative at nearby Lenox Hill Hospital, and absolutely nothing had changed. It was the same for a Gristedes in the West Village (Sheridan Square) I frequented after one of many trips to the old Disc-o-Rama.I walked into one a couple weeks ago for the first time in years looking for a small item. Left empty handed. Your assessment is 100 percent accurate. Also the prices are ridiculous.
I once heard Cats say that he wasn't as involved in the stores compared to his other businesses, but that he won't sell them, either.