The Market Report

Today's Snapshot is not a supermarket, but more like a bodega. It's still one that caught my eye, though, as I was heading east on 183rd St from the Pioneer we saw yesterday. This store, whose storefront is under construction and previously looked like this , is remarkable because the awning we can see in the street view (just a month before I visited) was installed right on top  of past signage which had just been painted over. And very few stores nowadays in New York City still use the term Superette, but it's quite common in other areas (like I'm in Massachusetts now, and you see Superettes very frequently). This one is located at 51 E 183rd St, Bronx, NY. Photographed June 2018

Quick note before we start today's post. I missed it at the time, but yesterday's Snapshot was actually The Market Report's 600th post! Thank you for reading as always, and if you have any feedback or just want to talk supermarkets, feel free to leave a comment here or email me at zachary@marketreportblog.com ! Today's store tour is the first of two Pioneer Supermarkets we're going to see in this neighborhood, located just at the corner of 183rd St and Jerome Ave, a major north-south corridor that parallels University Ave. This store has been a Pioneer for many years, at least about 15, but likely longer. However, as we'll see, it's also been pretty recently renovated. Hmm. Seems like maybe they could've found a better place to put that Pioneer logo. Like, you know, a foot lower. Anyway, the store's located just under the 183rd St subway station. Okay, that's better. You can see the recent renovation, with the new awning and sign,...

Just across the street from Bronx Marketplace is a small greengrocer called Something California Fruit & Vegetables. Unfortunately, I am utterly unable to make out the first word. From a Google Maps street view , we can get a better view of the name. Nongra California? Like many of these small greengrocers, the store appears to be basically a convenience store with a selection of fresh produce. I always prefer when stores do sell fresh produce, even when they're small like this, because more access to fresh produce in a neighborhood is always good. Plus, it forces Bronx Marketplace, Food Universe , and Pioneer (which we'll tour tomorrow) to step up their own produce offerings. This three-block stretch of 183rd St is definitely an example of intense competition meaning better offerings for the customer! This greengrocer is located at 14 W 183rd St, Bronx, NY. Photographed June 2018

Interrupting our Bronx tour for a quick look at a store that appears to have just opened. Morton Williams at 15 West End Ave, Manhattan, NY opened at the beginning of the month after being under construction for a long time. At over 20,000 square feet, the store is actually one of the larger supermarkets in the area, and possibly one of the larger stores in all of Manhattan. An anonymous contributor to The Market Report brings us this picture of the store just before it opened. It's located about two blocks south of an existing Western Beef supermarket (which I've visited but unfortunately not photographed). Clearly the two are going for very different target markets, as Western Beef focuses on cheap and fresh perishables, while Morton Williams is a more upscale positioning. I am personally not a fan of Morton Williams, and I love the quirkiness of Western Beef. But I definitely see how both stores can coexist so close together. Tomorrow we have another new Bronx post! A...

Today's Snapshot is a store that really confuses me. Soon before my visit in June 2018, a row of small storefronts on the corner of W 183rd St and Davidson Ave (the next block east from Lindo Supermarket ) was combined into one larger property, preparing to open as the Bronx Marketplace at the time of my visit. What confuses me is this: the store appeared to be almost ready to open, fully equipped with its Bronx Marketplace sign, when I passed by. But a photo posted to Google Maps shows the store with no sign but a temporary banner. So the sign was removed before or immediately after the store opened? And a review from substantially after the store opened makes a reference to it being under "other management" -- like new management? Already, so soon after the store opened? I don't get it, but it looks like they have a nice building! It's a pretty nice sign too, I have to wonder why it was removed. Unless, for instance, it was put up without permit appro...

As I mentioned previously, 183rd St has a lot of grocery stores. However, some are quite small. This particular one can't possibly have more than three aisles, but it's been a food store for several decades at least. I have no idea what the selections might be like inside, but it must be quite small. I don't know whether there is meat, deli, or produce, but they can't conceivably fit much. Lindo Supermarket is located at 35 W 183rd St, Bronx, NY. Photographed June 2018

Perhaps you remember Friday's Food Universe Marketplace . We're heading about a quarter of a mile south of that store for a second Food Universe owned by the same folks, and also brand-new. This one, however, was previously a Bravo and before that, an Associated. The storefront was not extensively redone when the switch to Food Universe was made, but it was definitely freshened up. (And can we all take a moment to recognize that Food Universe is one of the few NYC banners that doesn't use the buzzword fresh in any way, in their name or slogan or anything?) For an overview of the storefront, which is looking great, check out this Google Maps street view . Sorry, that link won't work on mobile for whatever reason. The entrance is at the far side of the storefront, but here we can see the all-new windows, digital display signs, and window graphics that were all put in for the transition to Food Universe. These stores both offer free delivery, like many superm...