A North Country tipster has reported that AJ’s Country Pantry Restaurant in Fairfax, a standby for hearty breakfasts and prime-rib dinners, has closed its doors. We were unable to reach co-owner Jessica Cross for comment, and the restaurant’s number has been disconnected.

In better news, the Steeple Market, also in Fairfax, which burned to the ground on Christmas Eve ’08, has reopened in a brand new building.

According to the store’s office manager Shelly White, it now has more grocery items, produce and specialty foods on its shelves, and a bigger deli chock-full of premade salads, fried chicken, Thursday evening prime-rib specials and lots of other grab ’n’ go meals, such as chicken cacciatore, beef Stroganoff and coq au vin. Pizza and subs, standbys from the old incarnation, are also available. White says the butcher shop is a big draw, too.

“You can get anything you need here. It’s kind of a one-stop shop,” she notes. “And our prices are pretty competitive.”

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Former contributor Suzanne Podhaizer is an award-winning food writer (and the first Seven Days food editor) as well as a chef, farmer, and food-systems consultant. She has given talks at the Stone Barns Center for Agriculture's "Poultry School" and its...