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Showing posts from February, 2024

TOUR: Caribbean Supermarket - Mount Vernon, NY

Caribbean Supermarket Owner: Jong Hwang Opened:  1997 Cooperative:  none Location:  223 W 1st St, Mount Vernon, NY Photographed:  December 8, 2023 Mount Vernon is one of the cities in far southern Westchester County like Yonkers, and actually here we're so far south in Westchester County that we're only about two and a half blocks from the Bronx. This Caribbean Supermarket is around 5,000 square feet but built around a building of about 3900 square feet, with the rest being in this somewhat tentlike expansion in the front. There are two aisles of produce in that expansion area, then three more aisles in the main supermarket, with dairy in the front one (they run side to side) and meat and seafood at the back. The registers are on the left side of the store. Despite what it looks like in my exterior picture, there is actually a sign that says Caribbean Supermarket that faces the street. There also used to be a second location in Mount Vernon, at 333 S Fulton Ave , that's n

Leap Day International Tour!

Happy leap day! It's an unusual day, a rare day... an opportunity for a fun, different post here on The Market Report! We're taking an international tour with a look at five supermarkets outside of the United States, making stops in Mexico, Ireland, Japan, Israel, and Thailand. I hope you enjoy! Super Chedraui Selecto Supermarket Boulevard Kukulkan, Cancun, Mexico Photographed May 7, 2022 Contributor: Alex M. We begin our international tour with a look at Super Chedraui Selecto, a large upscale supermarket in a resort area of Cancun, Mexico, brought to us by contributor Alex M.! The store appears to be a multi-story setup, with a footprint of just over 30,000 square feet, meaning if it has two floors it's around 65,000 square feet. Aged meats take up a large part of this store's deli area. We also see natural foods and fish below... Because this is in a tourist area, it's possible the store's selections are angled towards what a US customer might be looking for

Snapshot: Ideal Fresh Market - Yonkers, NY

Ideal Fresh Market Owner: German Diaz Opened:  2014 Previous Tenants:  Morley's Supermarket Cooperative:  America's Food Basket Location:  779 Yonkers Ave, Yonkers, NY Photographed:  April 14, 2023 Contributor:  Laura E. Welcome to our first Westchester County store, and thank you to our contributor Laura E. for sending in her photo of this store! This Ideal Fresh Market is around 5500 square feet, and one of two Ideal stores in Yonkers, which is just north of the Bronx. We saw the second Ideal store a while ago. For many decades, this was Morley's Supermarket, then Morley's NSA in 2009. In 2014, it became an Ideal Fresh Market. The store looks small but well-appointed from the limited interior photos available online, and it looks slightly more upscale than the other Yonkers Ideal location. There is, of course, a lot we're not seeing here in Yonkers and the southern part of Westchester county, but we do have a little bit in Mount Vernon over the next few days. A

Special Report: Okka Foods Market - Homecrest, Brooklyn, NY

Okka Foods Market Owner: unknown Opened:  January 2024 Cooperative:  none Location:  1524 Kings Hwy, Homecrest, Brooklyn, NY Photographed:  February 16, 2024 Welcome to our final special report of the day! I guess you could say I was saving the best for last, because this store is absolutely spectacular. And it packs a lot of selection and services into just about 8,000 square feet of a former Rainbow clothing store. Judging by the name Okka and most of the selections here, I'd bet the bulk of the store is Turkish-focused. This is an incredibly diverse neighborhood, with large Middle Eastern and Eastern European populations. Okka has a little bit of everything, but aside from the international focus, it's just a generally higher-end supermarket. It feels much larger than its size, with a coffee shop (including brewed and bulk coffee) and several rows of pastries in self-serve cases immediately inside the entrance on the left. Produce is front and center, with the registers in

Special Report: Tashkent Supermarket (future) - Homecrest, Brooklyn, NY

Tashkent Supermarket Owner: Odiljon Tursunov Opening:  2024 Cooperative:  none Location:  1104 Kings Hwy, Homecrest, Brooklyn, NY Photographed:  February 16, 2024 That's right folks, it's time for another Tashneck ! (For the record, "Tashkent" is pronounced more like Josh and less like trash, contrary to what my subway friends believed.) This is a much larger location, and looks to be in the range of 19 or 20,000 square feet. The Uzbek supermarket will be right at home here in Homecrest, which along with bordering neighborhoods Bensonhurst and Gravesend have large Uzbek populations. In fact, there's a stretch of 86th Street in Bensonhurst that has no fewer than 8 grocery stores in a single block (a few of which specialize in Uzbek food), plus one on the other side of the street. I believe that's the densest concentration of grocery stores in the United States. The upcoming Homecrest and Greenwich Village locations join existing Tashkent supermarkets in Sheeps

Coming Soon!

It's time for our last county in New York before we move into New England, starting with Connecticut! We've spent a fair amount of time in Westchester County already, so this is a relatively quick group of stores. Starting tomorrow, we're going to spend just around a week taking a trip through Westchester County from the south, near where it borders the Bronx in Yonkers, up through Mamaroneck, Armonk, Katonah, Goldens Bridge, and ending in Somers. But also we have a brief interruption for a very special Leap Day feature on February 29th! And some maneuvering to accommodate a late addition with some more stores in Mount Vernon, so expect a weekend post or two. And as you may have heard , everything going forward is going to be posted right here on The Market Report from now on! Don't miss today's other posts here: ShopRite of Elmwood Park G-Mart of Hackensack Tashkent Supermarket Homecrest Okka Foods Homecrest

Special Report: G Mart (future) - Hackensack, NJ

G Mart (coming soon) Owner: Jeff Gee Opening:  TBA Cooperative:  none Location:  375-417 NJ-17, Hackensack, NJ Photographed:  December 20, 2021 and February 24, 2024 The 58,000 square foot Pathmark on route 17 in Hackensack opened back in the 1970s and closed without a buyer in A&P's 2015 bankruptcy. Since then, Planet Fitness has opened up shop in part of the space, with around 40,000 square feet left over on the right side. Very recently, Asian supermarket G Mart has signed a lease for the space and has begun renovations. I first visited the former Pathmark in late 2021, long before G Mart announced their intentions to move in. Planet Fitness was up and running, but plenty of Pathmark relics remain. The stripe is obvious on the storefront, and the pharmacy labelscar is very clear too. The Super Center signage remained... The store is situated immediately behind a large and relatively recently renovated Stop & Shop. However, it doesn't seem to be a particularly high v