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Scaturro Supermarket (former) - Woodhaven, NY

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By Zachary
Scaturro Supermarket
Open: early 1960s - July 2025
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: unknown
Cooperative: Associated Supermarket Group
Location: 84-39 Jamaica Ave, Woodhaven, Queens, NY
Photographed: March 11, 2024 and September 9, 2025
Scaturro might not be a well-known supermarket name in New York City these days, but the chain once had around a dozen locations in Brooklyn and Queens, mostly located in former big chain supermarkets. Here in Woodhaven, Queens, just south of Forest Park, Scaturro was located on Jamaica Avenue for decades. This store opened around the early 1960s and closed this past summer. Above, you can see the storefront closed up from a visit this past week. But I also have a full tour of the store before it closed, which I took back in the spring of 2024.
This store was around 6100 square feet. Back in the 1960s, some ads listed it at 84-37 Jamaica Avenue, but the address is 84-39. Just as Scaturro was closing up at 84-39 this summer, a new store was opening at 84-37. See that store here.
Stepping into this Scaturro truly felt like stepping back in time. The interior hadn't gotten any significant changes for many years, I'm sure. There's only one remaining Scaturro supermarket, and that's in Brooklyn at 6301 11th Ave. I'm not sure if the Scaturro family still owns the stores, or if at some point they changed ownership. But Scaturro for years was supplied by White Rose and in fact some of their locations were Met Foods stores, meaning that in White Rose's 2014 bankruptcy they were rolled into the Associated Supermarket Group. Scaturro uses ASG's Avenue A store brand, supplementing with Best Yet.
The first aisle contained the dairy department, the tiny produce department, and part of the meat department. The rest of the meat department lined the back wall, with service deli in the back-left corner. Frozen foods were on the left side in the last aisle. What you're looking at above was the entire produce department for this store. To say that Scaturro hadn't kept up with the times would be the understatement of the century.
Still, the store had plenty of local fans for its old-school charm. But the one-mile stretch of Jamaica Avenue that makes up Woodhaven's main business district has seven supermarkets and many more small grocers, meaning that there's a lot of competition.
I mentioned that a new supermarket opened next door to this one just as it was closing. You can read all about it at the link above (or below), but it's hardly a replacement for Scaturro -- it's a very different type of store with a very different selection. That said, Woodhaven (like so many other New York City neighborhoods) has changed a lot since Scaturro opened up here some 60+ years ago.
The deli was the big draw, it seems, as it is not only the only service department in the store but a very extensive deli, with lots of store-prepared foods. Avocado Supermarket next door does have a deli, but it's pretty simple and doesn't have the same selection this one did.
Still, it's clear that the owners here didn't invest in the store at all to modernize it.
I doubt another supermarket would come in here given the small size, dated interior, and location right next to a brand-new supermarket, but it's possible. A look at the very old-school front end...
I'm glad I got to visit Scaturro when it was still open, and while I'm always sad to see a longtime independent supermarket close, here we do have another new independent supermarket opening right next door -- certainly a rarity when a store closes. I don't know if the new store's opening was a factor in Scaturro's decision to close.
Tour the new Avocado Supermarket here along with a lot of other interesting stuff this weekend!
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