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Special Report: Global Farm Marketplace - Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY

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By Zachary
Global Farm Marketplace
Opened: November 20, 2024
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: none
Cooperative: Key Food Stores
Location: 1389 Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY
Photographed: December 4, 2024
Our only stop today that's not in the Bronx is this brand-new store in Bushwick, Brooklyn! A new mixed-use building has risen along Broadway on a lot that had been vacant for over 10 years, and on the ground floor is a brand-new, 18,000 square foot supermarket. It's unfortunate timing, though, as the elevated subway line that runs over Broadway and in front of this store is under construction, making Broadway almost impossible to drive and unpleasant to walk. Bushwick residents, though, didn't seem fazed by the construction and were turning out to shop at the new Global Farm Marketplace.
I first saw this store while walking through Bushwick in February, when signage was simply advertising an unnamed supermarket coming soon. I commented on the store's interior, saying it looked dated even though it was newly-built. Sure, the interior looks more like -- as I said on that post -- an old-school Associated than a brand-new supermarket, and the layout is a bizarre maze, but what this store lacks in cosmetic appeal, it more than makes up for in selection. The 18,000 square foot supermarket feels much larger than it is, and it's packed with all manner of groceries and service departments. Cosmetic nitpicks aside, I can hardly think of a single bad thing to say about this new store. So let's take a tour!
The store opened on November 20, and appears to still be in its soft-opening phase. At least, I haven't heard about a grand opening yet. The store is affiliated with Key Food, and might share ownership with a group of three stores under the name Global Fresh Supermarket. That group has one store each in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, all previously Pioneer Supermarkets that this fall left the Pioneer group and joined Key Food. In fact, a coming soon banner posted on this store said that it would be Global Fresh. Oddly, though, this store has yet to appear on Key Food's website. There are at least two other stores that are definitely part of Key Food -- using Key Food price tags and sale signs, and selling the Urban Meadow storebrand from Key Food -- but aren't listed on the website. Those are a SuperFresh in Arverne and the Hackensack Market.
Because this store is still very new, it's possible it just hasn't appeared yet on the website. Before we head in, let's take a moment to read about the supermarket from this letter posted on the front of the store.
I love it already! Let's head inside. The layout is a bit weird -- because of the layout of the building and needs of a parking garage and higher floors -- so bear with me. The produce department is in the front-right corner, with the seafood department at the back of that section. As you continue down the first aisle, the next stop on the right is an alcove with the deli and hot food bar, the bakery (although there's no in-store bakery), sushi, and a large cheese case. Then on the back wall is the meat department, which extends to the right in a dead-end alcove and to the left along the rest of the back wall. The grocery aisles are in the center of the store, and a juice bar and coffee shop is coming soon between produce and the front-end. Frozen and dairy are in the last two aisles on the left side of the store, and then another alcove in the front-left corner has beer and soda.
The understated department signs, such as this one below directing customers to the seafood department, are much more modern than the overall design of the store and feel out of place. Still, it's not an ugly store at all and again, my complaints are all minor cosmetic notes.
It's obvious that produce is a big focus here. Everything looked great and was aggressively well-stocked. Check out those leafy greens!
And service seafood at the back of the produce department.
There's a tiny independent called Howard Marketplace essentially across the street. It's a delightful store -- also affiliated with Key Food -- but it barely measured 4000 square feet so it's kind of in a separate category. A small natural market is just south on Broadway, called Organic Fresh Market, and a Foodtown of around 15,000 square feet is four blocks north on Broadway. The Foodtown is fairly similar to this store, with service seafood, meat, deli, and prepared foods departments just like this one. About five blocks south on Broadway is a longtime Key Food, around 10,000 square feet but with no service departments other than a tiny deli. There's also a small produce market across from the Foodtown.
Single-serve beverages line the front part of the first aisle. Notice the alternative aisle markers, similar to the Antillana we're checking out today.
Above, looking back towards deli and meat, and below, looking up towards the entrance (you can see it behind the two people standing next to the baskets).
I can't get over the flooring, though, which makes the store look older than it is. The fixtures and signage are all nice and new, though.
So as we move to the back of the store in the first aisle, we have three alcoves on the right. The first has produce and seafood, the second (here) has deli, bakery, sushi, hot food, and cheese, and the third in the back has meat.
The produce and seafood departments are on the other side of this orange wall.
It's quite a nice deli, and very large, especially for the neighborhood.
And a selection of block cheeses lines the wall at the back of the alcove opposite the deli counter, with baked goods and sushi in between. (They were giving out free sushi samples when I visited, which I definitely took advantage of.)
The meat department runs in both directions at the back of the first aisle, but to the right is a dead-end (except for an emergency exit). Milk and frozen meats are also to the right.
There's no service butcher here -- which the Foodtown does have -- but the meats are definitely cut in-store and there are butchers (see: these guys) available for special orders.
The meat department feels very large because it takes up the whole back wall of the very wide store.
The grocery aisles are spotless. Look how un-cluttered! I love it. And the selection is extremely extensive, considering the overall size of the store.
As a Key Food store, this supermarket's primary storebrand is Urban Meadow, Key Food's private label brand, which includes a line of Urban Meadow organics. But they supplement with various items from UNFI (Key Food's main supplier), including Essential Everyday and Wild Harvest items. The new Wild Harvest packaging was on full display here...
...although lots of other categories had Urban Meadow products. Here you can see the regular and organic honey as an example. The organic Urban Meadow items have the shield design in green, and the regular ones have it in black. On a side note: why do you suppose the organic honey is cheaper than the regular one? This store had quite a few of those call-out cards advertising Urban Meadow items. Generally, I've been happy with the Urban Meadow products I've bought, and I would say Urban Meadow is one of the better storebrands among the NYC groups.
Back over on the front wall, we see a juice bar and coffee shop still in progress between produce and the registers.
I think the signage works well here, although again there are choices that make the store look older -- like the wood paneling. I think the intention is to give a retro look, but I'm not sure some of those choices are quite landing right.
The grocery aisles are extremely pleasant, though. I don't have the data to back this up, but this store feels like it has a larger selection than the nearby Foodtown.
Dairy and frozen in the last few aisles. I believe the aisles here are split in half front-to-back.
And frozen lines the outside of the back-left corner of the store.
In the front-left corner is the beverage department, branded here Global Beer, a nice touch. There's a large beer selection but water, soda, and other drinks like iced tea are also here.
Refrigerated beer cases line the outside walls of this area, with short aisles in the middle for beer and soda.
And now a look across the front-end, with several self-checkouts on one side and then a few regular service registers next to that.
I wasn't sure about this store when I saw it in progress, but now that it's open, I really love it. It's a great supermarket that's packed with stuff, and it adds stiff competition to the already-crowded landscape of this area. We have quite a few very nice, brand-new stores to check out this weekend, so see the full list here:
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