The Market Report

Today's store tour is a very, very small store that also happens to have a large selection of a lot of groceries. Yeah, I know, that's been every single store so far in this group. But that's just what these supermarkets are in this area! Due to their aggressive remodeling, top-notch stores, and strong in-store programs for perishables, I have labeled A&E Supermarket Group (owners of City Fresh Market and Cherry Valley Marketplace) an operator to watch out for in the coming years as they expand their store base and improve their existing stores. This particular location was an Associated in the 80s before becoming a Compare Foods and switching to A&E's City Fresh Market banner in 2015. A renovation in or around 2015 also either added or opened up to customers the second floor of the store, visible here with the large windows. As you can probably tell, this is an extremely small store. You enter to what amounts to the grand aisle along the left si...

Today's store is small. I think that kind of could start all of these posts, but it's true. There's just so little space in these neighborhoods, and real estate is at a premium. This Food Dynasty is just a block east of Sal's , and it feels smaller (it might not be, but it's certainly more cramped). It definitely has more selection and more customers though! As small as this store does look, it was expanded. You can see what it previously looked like here (and see the source here -- I'm pretty sure 98% of that article is complete BS). Here's the approximate layout: large produce displays outside. Deli immediately inside the entrance, with produce and then packaged meat on the left wall (first aisle). Dairy/frozen in the last aisle and checkouts on the front wall. Once again, very attractive exterior displays. This is as much of a shot of the produce-deli area as I could get, but you get the idea. Nice new fixtures, updated decor, ni...

Right under the Fordham Center sign we saw yesterday is a greengrocer with several other departments as well. At the time of my visit, it was Sal's Fruit & Vegetables, but when driving by later, I noticed the awning had been painted. Sal's was a large store with strangely little selection, although they did have a lot of produce. The storefront is, in fact, so wide I couldn't get it all in one shot! Not a bad display at all of produce outside, but unfortunately it didn't look like it was really drawing customers into the store. This set of exterior and interior photographs comes from June 2018, but when I drove by again in August 2018, the awning had been painted dark green. A new sign saying "Fruit Meat Market" has been added along the bottom, as you can see on Google Maps. The store is made up of several smaller storefronts combined. Inside, the store was kind of dingy and definitely, well, rough around the edges. They did have a meat...

As I mentioned in yesterday's post on the Food Universe Marketplace, Fordham Rd between University Ave on the west end and Southern Blvd on the east end (which is approximately where the Bronx Zoo is) is a major retail corridor, and it also leads to Fordham University's campus. At either end of this stretch is a large sign welcoming you to Fordham Center. Here's what the west end of the stretch looks like, just east of University Ave. You can also catch a glimpse of tomorrow's Look Inside on the left side of the above picture!