The Market Report

The Almontes own two supermarkets in Howard Beach, a former Waldbaum's that's now a Food Emporium in the northern part of the neighborhood, and a Key Food that was previously a Duane Reade in the southern part of the neighborhood. At about 10,000 square feet, this is the far smaller location, and it's also slightly older, having opened in 2014. The store is oriented to face the parking lot in the back. Deli/bakery line the inside of this back wall, with produce on the facing aisle and checkouts along the left side wall. Meat lines the right side wall, with dairy and frozen in the last aisle, which is the front wall of the store (nearest to Crossbay Blvd). As we'll see, they've had to work with a rather awkward space, leading to some strange corners and wonky ceiling heights. Like many urban stores, this Key Food takes advantage of the outdoor space they have facing the parking lot. In this case, it's enclosed and heated -- good news for the bitte...

If you can believe it, this store once looked like this . And until not too long ago, too. Purchased by Key Food Stores in the 2015-16 bankruptcy, this former Waldbaum's was taken over by the Almonte family and converted to Key Food in 2016. A total renovation both inside and outside finally finished in early fall 2019, coinciding with a rebranding to The Food Emporium. While I don't know what Waldbaum's layout would have been, The Food Emporium begins with a spacious produce department, with deli on the left side and bakery in an island on the right side of the first aisle. Meat and seafood run along the back wall, with frozen in the second-to-last aisle and dairy in the last aisle. As we'll see, the Almontes did a beautiful job on the renovation and the store looks spectacular... The 30,000 square foot store feels much larger than it is mostly because of the high ceilings and low displays, meaning the sightlines extend far in every direction. Looking to...

Original Tenant:  Foodtown Address:  133-40 79th St, Howard Beach, Queens, NY Opened:  2016 Closed:  2017 Later Tenants:  Shop Fair Supermarkets (same owners) - closed 2018 > Knickerbocker Furniture Photographed:  December 2018 The Shehadeh brothers owned several supermarkets across the boroughs of New York City, most of which ended up under the Shop Fair banner. We've toured their Bay Ridge location. Most of their stores have been closed or sold, though I believe there are two Shop Fair stores they still own in Flatbush. This store lasted only two years in the most generous of approximations, approximately one year as a Foodtown and approximately one year as a Shop Fair. This commercial (oddly in Spanish for an area with a relatively low Hispanic population, and with a very sketchy version of "Uptown Funk") provides a look inside the store when it was still briefly in business. Today, it's occupied by Knickerbocker Furniture, which...

Our next group of neighborhoods is just to the west of what we saw in southern Jamaica. We're heading into what might be considered central Ozone Park, then into Howard Beach, a relatively isolated mostly residential neighborhood of southwestern Queens, and finally right over the border into Brooklyn for East New York! Come back tomorrow for a Snapshot in Ozone Park.