The Food Emporium - Queens, NY (Howard Beach)

The Food Emporium

Opened: 2019

Owner: Franklyn Almonte

Previous Tenants: Waldbaum's > Key Food (2016-2019)

Cooperative: Key Food Stores

Location: 82-35 153rd Ave, Queens, NY

Photographed: September 11, 2026

Before we begin, just a heads up: this was originally posted in April 2020, but was rewritten with new photos in September 2026. Now for the post! One of the most impressive reinventions of a supermarket I've seen is here in Howard Beach, where a dingy Waldbaum's was acquired by Franklyn Almonte, a Key Food operator, in 2015 (just a year after Almonte opened a store on the other end of Howard Beach) and rebranded to Key Food. The 30,000 square foot store then underwent a lengthy renovation that completely transformed the building inside and out, finishing in 2019 with a rebrand to The Food Emporium. It's an upscale market, but still a full supermarket, and a great blend of straightforward offerings alongside specialty features.

You enter on the left side to an expansive produce department taking up the front half of the grand aisle. Behind that, bakery is in an island on the right side, with a sprawling deli and hot food bar on the left side. Service meat and seafood are at the back, with packaged meats on the rest of the back wall. Dairy and frozen are on the right side of the store. Remarkably, this unbelievable transformation actually occurred without the store closing. Here's a slight glimpse inside the place before renovation, and a look at the Waldbaum's-era produce department right after Key Food took over. It looks like Waldbaum's layout might have been reversed, with produce on the right and dairy/frozen on the left.

I've revisited this store a few times since my first stop here back in 2019, and each time, it's looked just as good as it did right after grand opening. Most recently, the produce tables have been replaced (what you're seeing in the pictures is the new ones), but that's about all that's been done. Still, it looks like a practically brand-new supermarket.

Howard Beach has a large Italian population, and you can see that both the deli and bakery lean heavily into the Italian food offerings. In addition to the other Howard Beach store, Franklyn Almonte also owns a Food Dynasty in similarly Italian Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, that's currently undergoing its own major renovation. Meanwhile, a Key Food in Bensonhurst has been sold and is also currently in the process of a similar big remodel, and I believe it's possible Almonte also owns that one.

Whereas many New York City supermarkets don't even have a dedicated bakery section, this store has a large island with bakery-quality bread, cakes, and Italian cookies.

There was a second Waldbaum's in Howard Beach, too, which is now a thoroughly unremarkable Stop & Shop. Here's a look at it before its most recent remodel, and here's a look post-renovation.

About all that's stayed the same here is the location of the meat department, which is still on the back wall. It goes without saying that all of the fixtures (and everything) in this store were replaced in the renovation.

The drop ceiling has been removed around the perimeter, but remains over the grocery aisles.

And a look across the front end before we call it a day. For now, I've got my eye on those other two Bensonhurst stores, and I love to see incredible transformations like this one!

This post was rewritten on September 13, 2026 with new photos.