The Market Report

Food Dynasty Opened: March 2026 Owner:  Numan Abuzahrieh Previous Tenants:  Shop Smart Supermarket (closed ca. 2015) > Compare Food Price (ca. 2015-ca. 2020) Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  1039 Castleton Ave, Staten Island, NY Photographed:  March 6, 2026 Last spring, we saw the new CTown on Castleton Avenue on Staten Island, owned by Adam Abuzarieh. The store was just 6000 square feet but an attractive, well-appointed neighborhood supermarket. Now, just eight blocks east, another Abuzarieh has opened another attractive, well-appointed neighborhood supermarket. But this one is even smaller: the new Food Dynasty on Castleton is just 5000 square feet. (A side note here: while public records indicate the owner of this store is Numan Abuzarieh, I don't know for certain whether Numan is related to Adam.) This space has been a grocery store for years (it was once a kitchen showroom) but the past grocers here have been more like bodegas than full superma...

America's Food Basket Opened: ca. 2012 Owner:  Edwin Polanco Previous Tenants:  Finast (early 1940s-late 1960s) > ?? > Caribbean Market (closed ca. 2009) > Shop Smart Supermarket (ca. 2009-ca. 2012) Cooperative:  America's Food Basket Location:  217 Bowdoin St, Dorchester, MA Photographed:  June 15, 2019 and November 13, 2021 Everything is denser and closer together in cities, of course, in part because so many people are living so close together and in part because so many people are on foot, not driving -- especially older cities in the northeast like Boston or New York. So it's not all that unusual to see multiple supermarkets very close together in urban areas, especially when they're smaller-scale stores. That's the case here near the intersection of Bowdoin Street and Geneva Avenue in Dorchester, where in just six blocks there are three supermarkets. Two of them are America's Food Baskets, and you can see the other one here . The third is a newly...

Just about a block south of El Rancho is another very small grocery store. Strawberry Field is, however, slightly larger and is also newer. Strawberry Field opened in 2014 in a former electronics store. It's all of three aisles wide but it goes very far back. Strawberry Field does have a service butcher and a small deli in the front, as well as a small selection of fresh produce. Dairy and frozen foods are towards the back. Here's a look at the store and the block it's on. As you can see, it's a very busy area with a lot of pedestrian traffic, and that's how a small store like this can stay in business with another almost identical store a block north and a big Key Food a block and a half north. I think most of the store's produce is actually outside. And there's some nice strawberries, 2 lbs / $3! Notice also that the store is a Shop Smart Food Market with Krasdale. Heading in, you can see the small produce department in the front with t...