Food Bazaar Supermarket
Owner: Spencer An
We're back at the Mount Vernon Food Bazaar for an updated tour! Nothing really has changed since my original tour back in 2017, but my photography abilities (and cell phone camera) have improved since then, so when I was back at the store to buy some things I decided to re-photograph it even though there's not really anything new.
My layout diagrams in that original 2017 post are pretty accurate and I would say probably helpful. Food Bazaar extensively remodeled the meat, seafood, and produce departments but the center-store area is pretty much untouched from the Pathmark days.
As we see, the store is absolutely packed with merchandise so I have to assume it's a very high-volume location. This is the largest supermarket in downtown Mount Vernon, though there's a much larger 80,000 square foot Stop & Shop south towards the Bronx border.
The seafood setup here is the same as what we saw at the Caribbean Supermarket, just much larger and featuring the wonderful intricate tile backsplash that, sadly, is no longer featured in Food Bazaar stores.
Moving towards the back, we enter the meat department.
It's possible some of these fixtures are left over from Pathmark, as they definitely look older than what Food Bazaar was using at the time this renovation happened. This store has roughly the same decor package as Long Island City, which opened around the time this store got its renovation. Here's what the Mount Vernon store looked like when it opened -- very Pathmarky.
And speaking of Pathmark, as we leave the produce, meat, and seafood departments, we start to see the Pathmark past coming through. There's a section between those rooms and the deli/bakery area with the wall of values, which also runs down the first aisle.
The store is starting to show its age, with things like the flooring and ceiling really starting to look old here. It's not in that bad shape, though.
I'm not positive whether this is Pathmark shelving or Food Bazaar shelving. Food Bazaar and Pathmark used the same style of shelving at the time. Food Bazaar has since switched to black shelving. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few more years this store gets a much more significant renovation in the rest of the store.
The bakery and deli area is built into Pathmark's old meat room. If you look at the 2012 Food Bazaar pictures, you can see that this wall used to be packaged meats with a small butcher counter in the middle.
The store still has a Pathmark feeling, though, likely because of the shelving and flooring.
Speaking of flooring, what's that we can see running across the whole back wall? Pathmark flooring!
Because the deli, bakery, and prepared foods departments weren't previously here when Pathmark was here, all of the fixtures and decor are new.
Beer is in one of the grocery aisles.
As we continue down the back wall, we see part of what used to be the meat department with the original 2012 Food Bazaar decor still intact. I believe the subsequent renovation took place in 2014.
I think honestly this Food Bazaar decor fits well with the Pathmark flooring and the personality of the Pathmark stores. Pathmark certainly could've gotten away with using something like this.
Dairy in the last aisle also has its Pathmark flooring! Oh, and those milk shelves are 100% Pathmark.
In the front corner is the bread area, although it looks like Pathmark's bakery may not have been here as I assumed, but instead in the back left corner of the store behind the HABA shelving, or roughly where the butcher is now.
The independent pharmacy has closed here and the ConEdison storefront has expanded into its former space. Opposite that is the frozen foods department, with what I assume is Pathmark-era freezers...
And a look across the front end, where once again we see Pathmark flooring still proudly displayed! Almost every other Food Bazaar has switched to polished concrete flooring throughout, but this one hasn't -- which is one of the reasons I suspect (or, maybe, hope) a larger renovation may be coming eventually.
Owner: Spencer An
Opened: 2012
Previous Tenants: Pathmark (ca. 1990s-2012)
Location: 1 Bogopa Plz, Mount Vernon, NY
Photographed: June 2, 2021
That's all for Mount Vernon! Tomorrow we're headed about six miles northeast for a small store in a suburb.
Really cool to see that the Pathmark flooring is still intact! I agree that this decor actually would have fit pretty well in a Pathmark. It's funny how different the grand aisle is from the main store, though.
ReplyDeleteFor sure. Also worth noting that the former owner died in 2012 and his son took over, so the business would've been under different management when they were opening it vs. when they were renovating it. Obviously, the Food Bazaar stores look very different these days (here's Douglaston, a former Fairway and Waldbaum's: https://www.marketreportblog.com/2021/07/special-report-food-bazaar-supermarket.html) so I have to imagine it's only a matter of time before this one gets a renovation, too. And probably has the Pathmark flooring removed, sadly!
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