Associated Supermarkets - Bronx, NY (Soundview)

Associated Supermarkets

Opened: 1998

Owner: Pilar Franco Encarnacion

Previous Tenants: shoe store (1970s) > Pioneer (closed 1983) > Met Foods (1983-1991) > Bravo (1991-1998)

Cooperative: Associated Supermarket Group

Location: 1585 Westchester Ave, Bronx, NY

Photographed: March 8, 2019 and December 15, 2023

Before we begin, just a heads up: this was originally posted in August 2020, but was rewritten with new photos in July 2026. Now for the post! Today's snapshot is a 10,500 square foot store that might look vaguely familiar. That's because it's nearly identical in design to the Food Choice Market on White Plains Rd. While that store is owned by Luis Franco, this one is listed as being owned by Pilar Franco Encarnacion, who could be a family member. This store opened in 1998 and was extensively renovated and expanded into a neighboring Dunkin' Donuts (to the left) around 2015.

The first picture in this post was from my 2019 set, but by 2023, the store had lost its Associated logo and was looking just a little bit worse for the wear outside. The interior was in good shape, though. Deli is in the front-left corner, with produce and meat in the rest of the first aisle. Meat and cold cuts continue onto the back wall, with dairy and frozen on the right side.

Like Food Choice (and, heck, basically every other supermarket in the Bronx), this store is cramped but packs a lot into the small space. In recent years, quite a bit of new competition has come into this neighborhood. Within a couple blocks on Westchester Avenue, a CTown has replaced a Walgreens and a Shop Fair has replaced a Rite Aid.

A much larger Food Bazaar is about half a mile south.

I would expect this store hasn't seen too many significant updates since its original opening back in 1980 or so, though of course there are things like the flooring and lighting that have clearly been replaced. The bones, though, seem consistent with what I would expect small supermarkets to have been doing around 1980. That's around when Pioneer opened here, becoming Met Foods in 1983. Then, this became one of the first Bravos when Krasdale introduced that brand in 1991, and Associated in 1998.

Soundview also now has another Associated, about a mile southeast, that was previously a Met Foods, and just a block over from that one is a new ALDI. In other words, there seems to be a lot of grocery development here in Soundview, and I'm not entirely sure why that is. Often, that accompanies significant residential development, but I don't think that's happening right now around here.

This post was rewritten on July 12, 2026 with new photos.