Photo: QueensPost
Feb. 2, 2013 By Bill Parry
A new supermarket is opening on Greenpoint Avenue at the location that was previously occupied by Foodtown.
Foodtown, which operated at 41-25 Greenpoint Ave., closed in December following the store owner’s inability to renew the lease with Jamal Hammad,
the owner of Maysa Realty.
Public officials argued that Hammad sought an exorbitant rent and was possibly warehousing the space for development purposes. Hammad
didn’t respond to repeated calls at the time.
However, Victor Batista, a property manager for Maysa Realty, said Friday that a new supermarket will open in that space–without getting into specifics. “The new supermarket will open later this year and the entire neighborhood will be proud of it.”
When Foodtown closed, 30-plus jobs were lost and a protest was held. However, the employees were all offered jobs at other stores in the borough.
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36 Comments
Trader Joe s doesn’t open in upscale neighborhoods. It opens in up and coming neighborhoods that concentrate a good amount of artists and diverse hip crowd. Not saying that Sunnyside is such but is definitely close to such areas (Lic, greenpoint, williamburg).
We shouldn’t believe everything we hear. Maybe the landlord Maysa wanted Foodtown to stay but they didn’t want to since they never cleaned and renovated the store, it’s good they are gone. A new supermarket will do great in Sunnyside.
I don’t believe that Trade Fair is connected to Key Foods. I think that you mean Food Dynasty, which has a store on Skillman Avenue with the same owners as the people running the recently renovated Key Foods on Queens Boulevard at 46th Street. In fact, that store also used the name Food Dynasty until it hooked up with Key Foods. Food Dynasty also had a store on Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, which may also be still operating under that name. I haven’t been in that area for a long time.
If it was Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods pretty sure they would have made an announcement already on their websites. I don’t think Sunnyside is upscale enough for them anyway.
Maybe an Aldi’s?
Probably a Trade Fair – which AFAIK is part of the Key Foods “family” (the Trade Fair on Skillman ave has all the same flyers, etc as Key Food).. I believe the owner of the property on Greenpoint has some kind of connection with Key Foods and probably wanted to shut down the Foodtown because it was competition.
I hope is Trader Joe’s 🙂
TRADER JOE’S would be a delight!
Oh what I’d give for a Publix!
@86Mets Just as long as they don’t put Bob Ojeda back there to slice deli meats.
The property manager’s statement sounds quite vague and general. Doesn’t sound like any deal has taken place.
Trader Joe’s is on the Metropolitan Avenue border of Rego Park, which is quite a distance from the Rego Park shopping hub on both sides of Queens Boulevard. Also, Trader Joe’s sells only food and wine (most of it under its own label), and would be an inadequate replacement for a full-scale supermarket.
Suddenly maysa is willing to talk to SP? Foodtown was a poor excuse for a business. Too many kids worked there and never payed attention to their customers.
I hope a cleaner store comes here and their new cashiers don’t smash our groceries beforward bagging them.
@nm
Foodtown was not doing well. Not to old Gus- who worked there for more than 20 years.
Are NOT from the neighborhood !
This just confirms my suspicions that none of you people get out much. The trader joes in rego park is not near a subway and 70 % of the people who shop there are from the neighborhood
Foodtown was doing well and not only offered to pay a much higher rent, but to even buy the building! The landlord simply did not want to renew their lease, and I fear that he is eyeing a parcel development down the
line. He owns the two other vant storefronts on that block and they have been vacant for years.
Foodtown was doing well, business wise.
Hoping for a trader joes, whole foods, or fairway, but in this neighborhood would be a bravo, western beef, or a not so great Spanish supermarket
I’m hoping for a Bravo. The one off Steinway is fantastic.
There is no way a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods is going to open in that location. Like someone said, too far from the subway and there just isn’t enough room or demand to support either of those.
Well I’m glad it isn’t another 99cent store!
more likely that well get one of those places that piggy back on other well know brands – probably get a Trader Moe’s or a WholeTown or FairFoods.
@SWSmitty Thanks for the info, feel safe now. Maybe they will put a WF, TJ or Fairway in the old Pathmark. That might not be so bad. They have the parking already and I do like the selection. Even though I don’t love the management at my local Fresh and Save–the lack of parallelism in that name always trips me up–I do most of my shopping the just to keep them in business. But an occasional trip to WF would be nice.
As much as I would love for Trader Joe’s to come to Sunnyside there is already one kind of close by in Forest Hills. It doesn’t make sense to build another one here. But, I really hope I am wrong.
Trade Fair seems the most likely, since their stores in Astoria, Woodside, and Jackson Heights aren’t close enough to Sunnyside to be competition.
In fact, I think they have at least two stores in Astoria alone.
Happy to hear – Trader Joe’s would be nice too, but happy with any additional choice in grocery stores! Great news.
Remember, there’s no parking near the store and the subway is quite a hike if you are carrying groceries, so there’s no danger of a Trader Joe’s or a Whole Foods, let alone Fairways, coming to this neighborhood.
That being said, I’m getting used to Associated. Not so many sales, and too many of the customers seem oblivious to the fact that they’re obstructing the traffic flow of the now crowded store, but the cashiers are all nice and the workers seem on the ball. But the empty store on 42nd street cannot remain that way, hope to see some progress soon.
@OM
I hear that Mike Piazza will be working at the deli counter.
what bullshit, Foodtown couldn’t afford the place so now another supermark suddenly can? that only means higher prices, so congrats you hipsters, you say only rent gets raised ? Thanks to you jack holes now supermarkets are raising their prices as well.
Manhattan prices in Sunnyside HERE WE GO
Probably another Mets Food store like the store on 44th St and 43rd Ave. I really like that my favorite baseball team has a grocery store in the neighborhood.
Nice for a change, MET Foods upgraded theirs on 43rd Ave. I love Sunnyside!
I would love Fairway to come to Sunnyside!
A Trader Joes would make me proud!
Whole Foods would be great, but very unlikely.
Let’s hope it isn’t a Wholefoods or Fairway, there will be people coming from Elmhurst. Something good and local.
I wonder how the new tenant will afford the exorbitant rent that the landlord wanted from Foodtown.
Great to hear!! Hope they will carry all the food I like at prices well below the competition.
Proof is i the pudding. let’s see what move in. I’m also curious to know how long a lease this new grocery store has. I still think this will become a developmental parcel. (think condos). Hope i’M WRONG
Hope they make it look nice.