Key Food Supermarkets
Keep an eye on this ground floor space at 975 Nostrand in Crown Heights, Brooklyn: It's soon to become a Key Food supermarket, according to a real estate listing. (Knowing Key Food, it's entirely possible it'll actually open under a different name but still be connected to Key Food.) The supermarket will be around 17,000 square feet, so substantial but not that big.
Associated Supermarkets
I actually got to photograph the Associated before it closed, way back in 2019, so excuse the quality of some of these photos. The store was around 16,000 square feet, and was built in the late 1960s as an A&P. Though A&P closed around 1990 with Associated opening the year after, a reminder of the history stood outside until the day it was demolished...
...and, heck, A&P remnants stuck around inside, too. Although Associated had done some resetting and replaced some of the fixtures, A&P's decor lasted inside until the day it closed. To my knowledge, this was the last operating store with this decor package, which I believe was from the 1980s.
My understanding is that this decor was the precursor to this decor.
Associated also was still using some A&P fixtures, such as these very old-school meat cases. From what I can remember of the layout, produce was in the front-right corner, with meat on the back wall and dairy/frozen on the left side. I don't remember seeing a deli or bakery, but it's possible that there was one where Associated had its customer service counter.
Oh yes, and I suppose I haven't actually addressed this yet: It looks like the store is staying under the same owners, but they've chosen to switch from Associated to Key Food for the new store.
Some new cases were going in at the time of my visit in 2019...
This corner is where I suspect A&P could've had a deli, if this store did in fact have one.
Opening: TBA
Owner: Pablo Espinal
Previous Tenants: none; A&P (late 1960s-ca. 1990) > Associated (1991-2021) previously on property
Cooperative: Key Food Stores
Location: 975 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Photographed: July 15, 2026
The interior build-out doesn't seem to have started yet, but the building is complete so now it's up to the supermarket operator. Who will run this Key Food? Well, it seems that it'll be run by Pablo Espinal. He had previously owned an Associated at this spot for 20 years before the store closed to make way for the new development, with much protest. And that Associated had some fascinating history itself. Let's check it out.
Opened: 1991
Owner: Pablo Espinal
Previous Tenants: A&P (late 1960s-ca. 1990)
Cooperative: Associated Supermarket Group
Location: 975 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Photographed: January 8, 2019
It's sad to see this wonderful Associated close up shop, but it's definitely time for a new store here. I'm looking forward to checking out the new Key Food! Here's the other posts for this weekend...
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