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The Pioneer Supermarket on 63rd Rd (corner of 99th Street) in Rego Park closed at the end of last summer. There is still a sign on its windows about another market chain opening up there it in its place. But so far there is no sign of that happening even now.
The Pioneer Supermarket on 63rd Rd (corner of 99th Street) in Rego Park closed at the end of last summer. There is still a sign on its windows about another market chain opening up there it in its place. But so far there is no sign of that happening even now.
Pioneer is another "hood" supermarket that survives only out of default. There is one on Lexington Avenue and 94th (or is it 95th) and have always wondered why that place is open in such a posh area. Peeps tell me it is a holdover from when 86th to 96th wasn't such a great area.
Met Foods, Pioneer, Red Apple, and even Gristedes to some extent are all *hood* supermarkets. You probably could put some Key Foods and a few other stores in that mix as well.
Many of those supermarkets survived and or are still around because area residents have or had few other options. If Met Foods is the only local choice you have besides a bodega or deli it wins by default.
We don't have any big supermarkets in my area but we have a Key Food that has valet parking and marble tiles. Ha.
There are a lot of Key Foods/Food Dynasty/etc. etc. etc. all the same junk in my area.
I have a Shop Rite on my way home from work and I go there a lot. I try to hit up Aldi too.
I'm actually a bit surprised that there is no Trader Joe's in northern Brooklyn, but there's already Union Square and the one in Forest Hills/Middle Village. Thankfully all the yuppies don't go that deep into Queens and thus there's much less crowding there compared to the overcrowded 14th St. store.
It used to be the Korean grocers rule most of NYC, now more and more they are no longer selling groceries but selling hot foods instead. Which makes the Chinese the largest supermarket and grocers in NYC. You won't find that on your yuppie blocks, sorry. Grocery stores only exist where people actually still cook. Millennials get their foods from FreshDirect.
There seems to be a huge trend, for busy people, especially those who take the train to and from work, to order groceries online. One of my young neighbors orders diapers online. I have been known to hump a box or two up the stairs.
I confess that I have contributed to this trend of supermarkets going under. I live in Manhattan. I go to Trader Joe's once a week. In addition, I order Fresh Direct every other week. A couple of times a year I go to Costco. Those are all options that didn't exist when I moved into my present apartment in 1992.
A couple of times a week I visit my local Gristede's (very expensive) and Associated (very cramped) to pick up the odd item that I can't find elsewhere. We do have a green grocer's where I buy my salad fixings. But the days of my hauling my shopping cart to Gristede's and spending $150 are gone.
Many of these closed or still existing supermarkets were located in "tax payer" type properties. That is low rise or single story buildings that went up or de facto existed to generate revenue to assist in defraying taxes. Back in the day even when the lot was zoned for higher there wasn't any point in developing..... but now for many that has changed.
Then you have many of the old school NYC supermarkets have high costs (labor is one as most are union) that in turn must be passed on to consumers if the place is to make money. This was all fine and well when as stated before area residents were often captive to one or a few stores; now things have changed.
Duane Read, Walgreen's, Rite Aid, etc... all sell milk and other grocery staples often at prices lower than supermarkets. We get our milk from local Rite Aid or Duane Reade as they offer consistently lower prices than any supermarket in area.
A lot of food emporiums are shutting down. gristedes on east 86th street wil be closing soon too
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