The Market Report

Wardsboro Country Store Opened: 1882 Owner: Matt & Mindy St. Peter Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: none Location: 23 Main St, Wardsboro, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 Today's stop is a quick look at the Wardsboro Country Store in the center of the small town of Wardsboro, Vermont. It's another long-running general store, dating back to 1882. I haven't been inside and haven't seen many pictures online, but it does seem like it's still a small grocer (about 4,000 square feet), with a deli and some basic foods, but definitely not a supermarket. Wardsboro is just east of the Green Mountain National Forest and near several ski resorts, so tomorrow we're going to head to the south very close to a ski resort to check out the local grocer there!

LIDL Opened: August 26, 2026 Owner: Schwarz Group Previous Tenants:  none; Key Food (1970s-2021) previously on site Cooperative: none Location: 573 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY Photographed: September 4, 2026 LIDL continues to expand in and around New York City, but as the company continues to figure out its position in the US market, they've continued to tweak the format. The latest updates are on display here in Brooklyn, where a new-build LIDL replaced a longtime Key Food on the same property. This store is smaller than some of LIDL's suburban locations but actually on the large side for urban Williamsburg, at around 27,000 square feet. We're across the neighborhood from a new Lincoln Market , but just a couple blocks over from a small-format Whole Foods . Also, a CTown, a Bravo, two Foodtowns, a Brooklyn Harvest Market, and a Sunac Natural Market are all within a few blocks, so there are lots of other supermarkets -- but no other discounters in the immediate area. Insid...

Kalam's Bazaar Opened: August 31, 2026 Owner: MD Kalam Previous Tenants:  non-grocery tenants Cooperative: Associated Supermarket Group Location: 69 Church Ave, Brooklyn, NY Photographed: September 4, 2026 Last summer, a South Asian supermarket called Kalam's Bazaar opened in Ozone Park, Queens in a former dollar store. Now, the same company is behind a revitalization of this previously vacant storefront along Kensington, Brooklyn's Church Avenue corridor with a large South Asian population in the area (and several South Asian and halal supermarkets around). At a bit under 6000 square feet, this location is smaller than the Ozone Park one. The interior is very similar to the Ozone Park location, but the layout is a bit different. Produce is on the right side with a butcher counter and packaged meats at the back. Frozen meat and fish are in the back-left corner with the rest of frozen and dairy in the last aisle on the left side. This location feels more cramped than t...

Widdis Food Market Opened:  summer 2026 Owner: Shady Widdi Previous Tenants: Mignosi's Supermarket (1990s-2022) > Ideal Fresh Market (2022-2026) Cooperative: Allegiance Retail Services Location: 1006 Rossville Ave, Staten Island, NY Photographed: September 4, 2026 We find ourselves back in Rossville, out on Staten Island, to check in on an independent supermarket that's had quite a bit happen in the last few years. This was a Mignosi's Supermarket -- part of a local Staten Island chain -- back in the 1990s through 2022 (though the Mignosis sold it to new owners in the mid-00s). In 2022, new owners took over and swapped the Mignosi's name for Ideal Fresh Market, and I wrote extensively about that transition here . Now, it's been sold again, and despite having just had its official grand opening as Ideal in the summer of 2025, extensive renovations are again underway. They're already done (or close to it) on the outside, with a new facade and new logo up. ...