The Market Report

Western Beef Supermarket Opened: July 2025 Owner:  Castellana family Previous Tenants:  Junior's Food Outlet (closed 2024) Cooperative:  Associated Supermarket Group Location:  135-45 Rockaway Blvd, South Jamaica, Queens, NY Photographed:  September 9, 2025 One look at that trademark orange building and you already know what store we're looking at here: Western Beef, one of New York's quirkiest chains. The chain, which is owned by Italian Americans but specializes in Caribbean foods, originated as a meat wholesaler and later grew to a collection of no-frills low-cost supermarkets across the city and its immediate suburbs. After a leadership struggle between the father and son who owned the chain -- and yes, they're both named Peter Castellana -- Western Beef has recommitted itself to their old identity. Western Beef also owned a few discount stores under the name Junior's Food Outlet, and while none exist today, several have been remodeled and reopened as full...

Food Depot Supermarkets Owner: Orfilio Chaviano and Nick Gonzalez Opening:  not yet announced Cooperative:  Krasdale Foods Location:  1 Main St, East Orange, NJ Photographed:  June 14, 2023 and July 25, 2021 Well, it's not the greatest picture (just out of a bus window) but here's a look at what will soon be the Food Depot in East Orange. The store was for a long time the Western Beef , although the store closed around 2020 and a banner went up on the old building announcing Food Depot was coming soon, a local chain with locations in Newark , Kearny, and Belleville coming soon . While there hasn't been any signage installed subsequently -- and unlike Belleville, there's nothing on the Food Depot website about this location -- there's been substantial renovation progressing around the building. The shot above is from just a few days ago but I realized I had photographed the store pretty extensively during its major construction but never posted the pictures. Those a...

Western Beef Supermarket Owner: Peter J. Castellana III Opened:  ca. 2005 Previous Tenants:  A&P (1980s-ca. 2000) Cooperative:  Associated Supermarket Group Location:  2040 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY Photographed:  January 13, 2023 Remember this store? It's been some time since we first toured this 40,000 square foot store which takes up most of a former A&P in far northern Staten Island. The A&P closed around 2000, and Western Beef moved in around five years later but was open no later than 2007. I'm not sure whether Western Beef originally took up the entire 52,000 square foot building, but around 12,000 square feet of it is now a discount store on the left side. If you look at my previous photos, you'll notice that the department signage to the left of the Western Beef logo has been removed, but the store has not been reduced in size since then. It's possible when that space was vacant, Western Beef was allowed to put signage over the area. I...

Universal Food Markets Owner: Vishu Patel Opened:  between 1997 and 2000 Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  2325 Elizabeth Ave, Rahway, NJ Photographed:  November 26, 2022 Today we wrapped up the remodel at the Kings in Livingston , and we're going to do the same here at the Universal in Rahway! I've documented this amazing transformation over the course of about a year and a half with the most recent post over the summer . The renovation is completely finished, and the store looks amazing. It's so much brighter and more open-feeling, and feels completely modern. You wouldn't know this building is 50 years old with the newest updates. The front entrance is fully functional... ...and the deli/prepared foods area in the back, the last thing that had yet to be finished inside the store, is all done. Worth noting that, during the process of this renovation, this store switched from Retail Grocers Group (Fine Fare) to Key Food. Most recently, I'd say about a month...