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Special Report: Food Bazaar Supermarket - Hempstead, NY

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By Zachary
Food Bazaar Supermarket
Owner: Spencer An
Opened: September 20, 2024
Previous Tenants: Melmarkets Foodtown > Stop & Shop (2001-2024)
Location: 132 Fulton Ave, Hempstead, NY
Photographed: October 15, 2024
Contributor: Alex K.
We get another trip to Long Island today, also courtesy of contributor Alex, who brought us yesterday's look at the upcoming Wegmans in Lake Grove. This time we're returning to The Hub in Hempstead, NY, whose supermarket anchor tenant switched from Stop & Shop to Food Bazaar on September 20. Alex visited the store last week and shared what he found.
The 65,000 square foot store hasn't changed much since the Stop & Shop days, and I'd imagine Food Bazaar probably isn't in a hurry to start a renovation since the decor is still serviceable and doesn't have any Stop & Shop branding. Notice that they haven't even installed a permanent sign outside yet. Inside, Food Bazaar has replaced the produce cases -- that was done during the overnight transition process -- but not much else. I assume soon enough the store will get a more major renovation.
It does look like they're baking in-store here. And the deli does appear to be selling Boar's Head, which they were in Coney Island but they weren't in Carlstadt or Piscataway, opting instead for Thumann's and Dietz & Watson.
Food Bazaar appears to be bringing in its gourmet cheese program here, something they got from Fairway. The acquired Fairway stores retained their large cheese departments, but Food Bazaar also brought the larger cheese selections to certain other stores.
I assume over time the store will get a significant renovation. It needs it, for sure, although not as badly as Coney Island.
The grocery aisles look fully stocked and reset, and it looks like there's more variety than there was on day 1. My impression is that on day 1, they're looking only to fill all the shelves, and over time they'll add and diversify the product mix.
Notice, too, that the ceiling has been painted (like Coney Island) but no other real work has been done yet.
And it's obvious there will be more work, as you can tell from things like the messy paint border where the ceiling meets the wall. I assume eventually that'll be painted over, and the decor will probably be switched over in due time, too.
It looks like the former beer department is temporarily stocked with iced tea. Usually it takes a bit of time to get a liquor license approved.
HABA and nonfoods condensed to one aisle here, it looks like. The pharmacy is closed and, for now, remains vacant.
Here's an interesting thing: as I mentioned on the post on Stop & Shop, Stop & Shop actually cut back the size of the store's sales floor in a renovation, and didn't fully close off the rest of the space, instead opting for this half-wall. It's extra noticeable with the ceiling as it is now. I have to assume Food Bazaar will either close it up fully or re-expand the store into the extra space. 
And looking at the front end, we do see the "thank you for shopping" sign installed, but the rest remains from Stop & Shop.
It'll be interesting to see what happens to this store over time, as with the other acquisitions!
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Comments

  1. SteveOctober 20, 2024 at 4:01 PM

    The closed off section was an area that was used for delivery service by Stop & Shop. That store had rampant theft. They tried to close it several years ago and the community cried so they added the delivery area and shrunk the store, relocating the bakery to where it is now and doing a slight renovation to freshen the store up. Ultimately the situation did not get better.

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