Bravo Supermarkets
We're jumping about three miles west here, from Parkchester in the southeastern Bronx to Morris Heights in the western part of the borough. This one is even smaller, at just 7300 square feet, and was built in 1966 as an A&P. I don't know when A&P closed, but the store's current ownership appears to have owned it since 1978. It's only been a Bravo since 1991, though, so there are some holes in my knowledge of this store's history. Any input is always appreciated.
We're beginning with a look at the store as some big remodeling was going on back in November 2023, and then we'll see the finished product with pictures from Friday.
You enter on the right side to deli and produce, with meats on the back wall and dairy/frozen in the last aisle on the left side. Like the Parkchester store, there aren't really any pictures of the inside prior to the renovation online that I could find, so the best we can do is seeing it in progress.
The new deli was constructed in the front-right corner of the store, where you can see the tarps below. It looks like most or all of the fixtures were replaced in the remodel, too, including all of the refrigeration.
Older flooring and wall decor still visible here, and I'm intrigued by the wall decor. It looks like it could've matched the old Bravo logo, which was roughly the same colors.
You can see that the drop ceiling had been taken out for the remodel, but the flooring remained in most of the store when I visited. All of that, of course, has been redone.
This store appears to have been remodeled many times during its life. One look at the exterior will tell you that -- it looks nothing like a 1960s A&P these days.
Deli is the only service department in this very small store, and I'm not even certain there was a deli here prior to the remodel.
When I visited back in 2023, some of the aisles were closed to replace the grocery shelving, with the products on these temporary carts. All of the shelving was new in the remodel, as was all of the refrigeration, it looks like.
Here's a look at the front-end, with a few small hints as to what the prior decor package would've looked like.
Now we return with pictures from Friday, showing the remodel all complete.
I'm not certain exactly when the remodel finished, but there were still flags up (actually across the street) in a way that seemed festive. Incidentally, the exterior got some small upgrades during the remodel that make it look much more modern than the previous, very old-school look.
The new deli is complete, with produce opposite and continuing down the first aisle.
You can see in these pictures that the store really is quite small, but they've done a nice job fixing it up.
And you can also see how they make the most of their limited space with a lot of vertical merchandising.
In an unusual setup, the flooring in the front half of the store (across all the aisles) is wood-texture vinyl, but the back half is polished concrete. I wonder if there was some unusual issue like the concrete was damaged in the front half and they would've had to re-pour it, so they decided to just cover part of it with vinyl flooring. Despite the two flooring textures, they're the same color, so the difference is almost indistinguishable.
Notice that the drop ceiling is brand-new, as it had been completely removed (except for the frame) in the remodel.
And they're keeping the aisles extremely orderly, at least so far!
Dairy/frozen in new cases in the last aisle on the left side.
And a newly-refreshed front end, looking bright and open (or as much as it can in such a small store)...
Good to see some extensive work being put in at these two Bravos! Check out this weekend's other posts here...
Opened: 2014-2022, reopened 2024
Another trip to the Bronx takes us to Parkchester, where the fire-damaged Bravo on Archer Street has reopened after an extensive renovation. See my previous post here. This is a much-delayed post, as I didn't realize the store had reopened about a year ago after getting a major overhaul. Here's a look at the exterior before the renovation. I really like this simple, straightforward exterior look.
I never got the chance to visit before the fire and closure, so I don't know whether the interior layout changed during the renovation. Cosmetically, everything looks brand-new, though some of the fixtures are probably left over if they weren't damaged.
Produce and deli are in a room on the left side of the store -- as you can tell inside, this space is made up of several storefronts that have been combined -- with meats on the back wall and dairy/frozen on the right side.
And I'm really digging this kind of minimalist decor. These small urban stores are so crowded anyway that a lot of bright, busy decor can make them feel even more hectic. Even the exterior is far more streamlined than it was during the turquoise Met Foods days. Speaking of this building's history, the oldest business I can find here was a hardware store, in business until the early 70s or so. It became a Pioneer no later than 1973, and it was still a Pioneer through at least 1993. I don't know if there was another store after that, but Met was open by 2005 and switched to Bravo in 2014.
Krasdale has been opening some very nice stores lately and it's good to see that their interior design has evolved over time. For a while, many of their stores had been stuck in time while their competitors like Key Food and ASG passed them. Krasdale has still lost a lot of stores, especially those that converted to Key Food in Florida, but they seem to be in a good position now and moving forward.
A look across the back wall over to dairy/frozen on the right side of the store.
This store totals just 8700 square feet, so it's quite small. Still, that's about the going rate for a store in this dense urban neighborhood.
Customer service is in the front-right corner, and three registers make up the rest of the front-end.
I like the darker colors here, and it makes the store feel modern.
Speaking of extensive remodeling, let's check out a different Bronx Bravo that's just finished a major overhaul...
Owner: Abel Baez
Previous Tenants: Murray Hardware > Pioneer Supermarkets (open by 1973, closed after 1993) > Met Foodmarkets (open by 2005, closed 2014)
Cooperative: Krasdale Foods
Location: 1861 Archer St, Bronx, NY
Photographed: July 25, 2025
It's good to see this Bravo reopening after extensive remodeling. Plus, they did a nice job on the setup, not just bringing it back to where it was before the fire but making it a brand-new store.
Bravo Supermarkets
Opened: 1978 under previous brands; 1991 as Bravo under same ownership
Owner: Tony Dias
Previous Tenants: A&P (1966-?)
Cooperative: Krasdale Foods
Location: 127 W Burnside Ave, Bronx, NY
Photographed: November 8, 2023 and July 25, 2025
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