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My local Foodtown is actually quite nice looking and very clean (Norwood section). I personally prefer Trader Joe's for my food shopping but the local FT is much nicer than the other supermarkets in my area. There is a Keyfood a few blocks away that is disgusting.
I hear the Fairway in the Bronx is solid but its out of the way for me. ..and will Trader Joe's please open one up in the Bronx (I will forever complain about the lack of one here).
The supermarkets that come to mind are Associated Foods, Compare Foods, C-Town and a couple of others; i'm not trying to bash them since i'm sure they have their advantages, but the atmosphere is definitely not the best.
C-Town? Not to be a snob, but the whole point of C-Town seems to be a low-end, no frills kind of place.
Part of reason may be that, due to the density of the city, supermarkets cater to a particular part of a neighborhood, and thus a particular socio-economic demographic. The suburbs have massive stores with enormous parking lots and attract people from a much wider radius. The only people who go to my local Food Emporium or Gristedes, are the people who can walk there.
I agree that supermarkets in the city, in general, look run down compared with similar markets elsewhere. Supermarkets are a very difficult business because the profit margins are minuscule.
Other issues might be: Rent in the city is very high so there's not a lot of room for storage. Buildings are very old and haven't been updated. Lots of competition from online, both groceries like Fresh Direct and prepared like Seamless. Large variety of high-end markets (like Citarella) skim off affluent shoppers who might otherwise shop at more mass market places. Lots of specialized shops, cheese stores, bakeries, greenmarkets, etc.
If this is mainly directed at Manhattan, the answer is everything in Manhattan is sloppy, as is everything in the various low-income neighborhoods in NYC.
The chains you're referring to are mostly low-end grocery stores. If you go to a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Fairway ect you'll have a different experience.
That said, an urban grocery store can never be the same as a suburban one due to the sheer lack of space. They just can't take up as much room here so they have to condense which can make it look cramped.
The chains you're referring to are mostly low-end grocery stores. If you go to a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Fairway ect you'll have a different experience.
That said, an urban grocery store can never be the same as a suburban one due to the sheer lack of space. They just can't take up as much room here so they have to condense which can make it look cramped.
Yuppie super markets have long long lines that stretch from Long Island City, to timbuktu.
I'm not sure, but it could have to do with the very slim profit margins for NYC grocery stores. I guess the rent is just too high. They stay open but don't put any money into renovating, cleaning, etc.
Same with rental apartments. No renovation, no upkeep. People suffer anything to geta job.
I think many supermarkets in the city are in smaller/cramped spaces and that makes them look less neat and more outdated.
This.
I have to say when they opened a Key Food in my neighborhood (complete with marble tiles and valet parking, LOL), as nice and clean as it is, it still feels SO cramped. Shopping in there sucks. Same for all of the stores in my area---C-Town/Met/Etc.---they make them quite nice and clean but because they feel so small it still doesn't have a nice feel.
Lines? I can walk in and out of the Trader Joe's by my house in 15 minutes flat, all day everyday.
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