Ex-South End Grocery owner gets probation in stabbing

The man who once owned the South End Grocery was sentenced on Friday to probation for stabbing a person on Christmas Day in 2023. 

Travon T. Jackson admitted in Albany County Court to entering a residence on Bassett Street last Christmas Day and stabbed the person in the back of the head and ear. The victim had minor cuts, pain and difficulty hearing out of his ear.

Jackon also had to pay $900 in restitution. An order of protection was put in place for the victim.

The grocery store opened in December 2022 in a former McDonald’s. Its opening was welcomed because it is an area considered a “food desert.” However, it closed in July 2023 after a fire extinguisher went off in a food prep area and never reopened.

Albany County bought the property for $450,000 and since sold it to Advance Albany County Alliance, which plans to work with neighborhood and community groups to determine the type of businesses or services that could go into this space.  

The Times Union was first to report the story.