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Special Report: Food World Supermarket - Brooklyn, NY (East Flatbush)

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By Zachary
Food World Supermarket
Opened: February 28, 2025
Owner: Hi Jong (Howard) Lee
Previous Tenants: Bernstein Bros > Key Food > Pioneer Supermarkets > CTown Supermarkets
Cooperative: Key Food Stores
Location: 4209 Ave D, East Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY
Photographed: March 21, 2025
4209 Avenue D in East Flatbush, Brooklyn doesn't look like a particularly remarkable location. But in the last 10 years, it's hosted no fewer than four different supermarkets. It was most recently a CTown from 2019 to 2022, and before that a Pioneer from 2015 to 2019, closing in 2017 for a few months to change ownership. Before Pioneer, it was a Key Food for many years, opening in 1987, being sold (but staying Key Food) in 1999, then closing in 2015. Well, it's come full circle again, as a Key Food operator now again occupies the space, although it's no longer under the Key Food name. One other tenant: a comment on my previous post, where you can see the store in progress, mentions that the store was a Bernstein Brothers in the 1960s.
Food World opened up here February 28, 2025 after extensive renovations to the building. Tour the CTown that previously occupied the space here. Food World feels like a new store because of the much more extensive work done, but there's a few things that remain.
It's also much more full than the prior tenants, which were more sparse. Food World has fully stocked every inch of the roughly 15,000 square foot supermarket, and they've added a seafood department, which the previous supermarkets didn't have.
Recognize the decor? It looks roughly the same as some of the decor in the newer SuperFresh stores owned by Howard Lee, who owns locations in Highland Park, Roselle, Middlesex, Belleville, and Queens. He's recently sold two of his stores -- read more about that here.
I believe Howard Lee owns this store. There's another two Food World locations, Valley Stream and Canarsie, that Lee sold about five years ago and doesn't currently own. It's possible they used the Food World name here rather than SuperFresh because of the existing Canarsie store for brand recognition, or because there's already a SuperFresh just a mile west.
Notice that Food World removed the drop ceiling over the produce department, although it remains in the rest of the store.
Food World is also, as far as I know, the first tenant here with a service seafood department. It looks like a big draw!
Dairy lines the rest of the back wall, with frozen roughly in the middle of the store. Meats and cold cuts are on the right side of the supermarket, in the last aisle, with beer and deli in the front-right corner.
Here's a look across the front-end, from the produce department across to the right side of the store...
It looks like Food World replaced most, but not all, of the fixtures here (including the grocery shelving and registers). They also replaced the flooring and the lighting.
I theorized that the aisle markers from this store when it was a CTown might've traveled over to the new CTown in Canarsie. Food World has new aisle markers.
This store is interesting because it's a bit of a return to Food World's roots, focusing on produce, seafood, and Caribbean foods. This area is part of East Flatbush, but is called "Little Haiti" because of the large Caribbean population.
Frozen food cases don't appear to have been replaced, and they're in the same spot.
Some, though, are new, such as these freezers on the back wall holding frozen meat.
Fresh packaged meats line the last aisle. There's no service butcher counter here -- CTown had one -- but the meat is still cut in-store.
Deli and beer are in the front-right corner...
...and although there's no in-store bakery, there's a section for baked goods, rolls, and bagels next to the deli.
Customer service and HABA are next to baked goods in the front-right corner.
And another look across the front-end towards produce...
I'm glad to see a big investment in a longtime supermarket here, and Food World did a nice job. It's a good, solid neighborhood supermarket, and a big renovation like this is always nice to see. Don't miss this weekend's other posts here!
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