Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Concern over possible Flushing supermarket closure

From the Times Ledger:

Hundreds of Flushing residents and their leaders are gearing up to fight the rumored closing of the Key Food supermarket at the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue and Bowne Street.

The only full-service grocery store of its kind in the immediate neighborhood serves a need which many residents cannot find elsewhere, said Mary Boroz, who has lived across from the current site of the store for 35 years.

“It’s going to make it very difficult for me and other people in the neighborhood because we don’t have another market like that near here,” said Boroz, who visits the store almost daily. “There’s a very small market about four blocks away.”

A spokesman for the company said he could not comment on whether the store would be shuttered, but did offer one comment.

“There’s no deal to close the store,” he said, without further explanation.

Key Food shoppers have heard rumors the shop will close at the end of the month and said the store has stopped receiving deliveries.

Even whispers that the grocery may be closing have the ability to ignite passion among Flushing residents, and on Saturday hundreds of people gathered in front of the shop in order to decry the possible shuttering.

More than 1,300 people, including City Councilman Peter Koo (R-Flushing), state Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) signed a petition in support of keeping the store open.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I need a place to buy live octopi!

Anonymous said...

How about Fresh Direct?

Anonymous said...

Bloomberg has declared the keyfood a blight on the community, it must be replaced with new condos and apartments as soon as possible.

Anonymous said...

Just drop the "D" from Key Food and it becomes the new "KEY FOO" supel malket...your, yet another, source for Oriental/Asiatic goods!

"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown"!

Anonymous said...

Here comes another Chinese "supermarket" in Flushing. Time to tear up the sidewalks and create more parking/traffic!

Anonymous said...

By the way, that is the site of the former home of Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Boy Scouts of America.

Wellington Chen probably already has plans for this spot.

And Community Bored 7 will vote "YES" to their fair haired boy because it's "As of right".

Anonymous said...

Hey...more food stores...more rats.

Another Chinese "delicacy"!

Please tell me what those rat size live cage-traps are for they're selling in Chinatown?


As long as I continue to live in Flushing (which isn't for long) I remain a strict vegetarian.

Anonymous said...

How about Fresh Direct?

Do they deliver live octopi?

Anonymous said...

If it is closing, it is not profitable?

Should we bail out the supermarkets too?

Anony2 said...

A petition will make this store profitable? The store is FILTHY.

One of the local Asian marts will smarten up and start selling more American products. That's what the market on Northern btwn 147th and Parsons Blvd did.

Maybe the new Chinese market in Caldor will have Kraft and Campbells.

Anonymous said...

This whole thing is Koo Koo!

Anonymous said...

One of the local Asian marts will smarten up and start selling more American products. That's what the market on Northern btwn 147th and Parsons Blvd did.


Perhaps but at what price???

Anonymous said...

Boo hoo. The Dans Key Food on Northern Boulevard and 156th street shut down 12 years ago. They essenetially kept the EXACT format of the Keyfood but just changed it to a exclusively korean supermarket.

Funny. Whites, Blacks/Hispanics and Asians used to shop at Key Food.

Now only Koreans shop at Han Ah Reum.

Ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

"Now only Koreans shop at Han Ah Reum."

It's actually now called H-mart to appeal to non-asians and there are enough kraft and sara lee products to appeal to most overweight caucasians.

Anonymous said...

Flushing was a cute town 20 years ago, now its the Pits...ugh what a trashy dump & the people so ugly they look like mutants, so sad.