Special Report: Lincoln Market - Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NY

Lincoln Market
Opened: August 3, 2024

Owner: Khalid Innab

Previous Tenants: Duane Reade

Cooperative: ASG

Location: 501 6th Ave, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NY

Photographed: September 4, 2024

Lincoln Market isn't exactly a household name, but the independent New York City chain has been growing very quickly since first opening on Lincoln Place in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in 2016. Today, there are seven Lincoln Markets in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. This location replaces a Rite Aid that closed in 2021.

Inside, the store is small and compact but not tiny, and absolutely full of merchandise. Like much of lower Manhattan, there are lots of smaller grocers but relatively few supermarkets, and it seems like this store is filling that need. Lincoln Market stores tend to lean upscale, which is what the rather affluent Greenwich Village is likely looking for.

We enter to a substantial produce department in the front-right corner of the store. Refrigerated produce lines both sides with rows of produce stacked beautifully in baskets in the middle. Deli and prepared foods are behind that, with baked goods in the back-right corner (there's no bakery in-store, but plenty of fresh baked goods). As is pretty common in these New York City supermarkets, there's a couple of strange corners, but generally, cheese and sushi are in the middle of the store facing the grocery aisles, while dairy is on the back wall and meat and frozen foods are on the left side.

The store is still new, but I visited about a month after opening and it was still just as pristine as ever. While I didn't look too extensively myself, several reviews online note that the prices are good (for the neighborhood, of course). They're a member of the Associated Supermarket Group and appear to be running a similar circular to the other members, including the better-known NYC chains like Met Foods and Associated.

The merchandising is spectacular, and really makes the most of the space which I would estimate is around 15,000 square feet.

And I like the attention to decor, something that slips through the cracks of many smaller supermarkets.

The produce department is certainly better stocked than some suburban supermarkets I've been to lately. There's a remarkable amount of selection in a very small space, with several sections dedicated to organic produce.

The deli is at the back of the produce department...

...and prepared foods run along the first aisle facing the deli.

Again, no in-store bakery, but plenty of fresh baked goods behind the deli.

And in front of the deli is one of the largest cheese selections I've seen in such a small store. This island in front of the service deli counter is packed with cheese options, then another low display case opposite is filled with even more.

To give you a sense of the layout of the store, you can see the front windows to the left below, and the sushi counter and grocery/dairy/frozen area to the right. Produce is to the left of the cheese counter and the registers are on the front wall in front of that.

Dairy lines the back wall. Notice that, because of the lower ceilings, the aisle markers are mounted to the shelves rather than hanging.

The grocery aisles are similarly well-appointed, with high shelves nearly reaching the ceiling absolutely packed with grocery selections.

As a member of ASG, this store uses Avenue A storebrand products along with the odd Best Yet product from C&S and Full Circle for organic and natural items from Topco.

Back over to the front part for the sushi counter...

And if I'm not mistaken, there is just a large island in the middle of the store which I believe is possibly a staircase to the basement or floors above. That would be between the cheese and sushi counters seen here, and the front-end on the front wall.

Beer is also towards the left side of the store.

And meats are in the last grocery aisle, I believe. I really do like that the decor continues throughout the store despite the lower ceiling. Since this space wasn't previously a supermarket, I assume it goes without saying that all the fixtures are new.

This is one of the strange corners that are unavoidable in Manhattan real estate; frozen foods extend back up towards the front of the store on the left side.

Nonfoods and pet products are also in that area. It's a very complete supermarket -- in my estimation, the most complete for quite some distance around.

And now circling back up towards the front. Self-checkouts are on the front wall and staffed checkouts face it in a row rather than individual registers given the store's small size.

I really loved this store and have been very impressed with the Lincoln Markets I've been to. But be sure to also check out today's other posts, and another day of Stop & Shop tomorrow!

• Wegmans is under construction at Lincoln Square
• Fast-growing chain Lincoln Market opens in Greenwich Village (this post)
• CTown prepares to move a block over in Canarsie, occupying a former Rite Aid