Just up the street from yesterday's King Kullen, we find a 30,000 square foot former Waldbaum's that was replaced in 2012 by a Pick Quick Foods-owned Key Food. While the outside still has a Waldbaum's feel to it, we'll see that the inside has been beautifully remodeled.
The storefront faces Sunrise Highway (to the right), while the aisles run along the left side of the store (facing the parking lot, to the left). The produce department lines the left of the store, with meats along the back wall. Frozen is in the second-to-last aisle with dairy in the last aisle, and deli-bakery-prepared foods are in the front corner.
Clearly quite a change from the Waldbaum's days!
The 2012 decor is still looking beautiful today. The store is also immaculate, so that always helps. I'm assuming this produce department is larger than Waldbaum's would have been, and Pick Quick probably took out a grocery aisle to expand it.
This wall faces the parking lot. The produce department is quite spacious.
Organic produce in the case at the back of the store.
Pick Quick Key Food definitely focuses on being a neighborhood store more than Waldbaum's did, certainly leaning more into the customization that a lot of shoppers want. This was a really nice touch!
It looks like some of these fixtures may be left over from Waldbaum's, but they've been updated. And look at that floor!
Older-feeling grocery aisles, but still beautifully clean and organized.
Definitely a holdover from Waldbaum's is the milk on the back wall!
Some nice countryside decor on the wall here!
Frozen foods in aisle 9, with deli-bakery-prepared foods in the corner.
Like much of the store, this is a huge upgrade from what Waldbaum's would have had. I don't know whether the deli would've been here or on the back wall, which is where I've seen it in other former Waldbaum's stores.
What a spacious front end! And again, look at that floor. Wow!
This about wraps up our store tour before we head out and move on to our next village, Valley Stream. Stay tuned!
Key Food Supermarkets
399 Ocean Ave, Rockville Centre, NY
Photographed December 2018
Zach, did you by any chance see the trapezoid-shaped Key Food sign at the corner where the Mavis Discount Tire is? It is leftover from when this Waldbaums store was first opened. The sign is kinda in the shape of the large 'W' that Waldbaums used in the 70's and it has a cool Not sure when this opened, but it looks like a 1970's store.
ReplyDeleteYou know, going back and looking on Google Maps, I did see the sign but it didn't register as anything more than just the Key Food sign. I know very little about Waldbaum's, but now that you point it out, this does look a lot like a 1970s Waldbaum's. Thanks for pointing it out!
Delete