From consistently moldy food to a reported freon leak and large holes in the floor, the two Waldbaum’s serving the Howard Beach and Lindenwood communities are a disappointment at best and a health hazard at worst, residents fed up with the chain that has a monopoly in the two neighborhoods said this week.
“They really have us held hostage here,” said Lorraine Caraccio, of Howard Beach. “Do we have other supermarkets? Yes. But are they really convenient to get to? They’re not our local supermarkets.”
For years, residents said they have dealt with a litany of problems plaguing the two stores, including high prices and poor quality food, ranging from moldy meat to expired goods.
“In my opinion, it’s one of the worst stores in the world – it’s dirty; things are rotten,” Caraccio said. “You’ll move a piece of produce and little flies will come out.”
While residents have long complained about the conditions at the stores, they said nothing has gotten better – despite seeking help from Waldbaum’s corporate offices. Waldbaum’s did not return a request for comment for this article.
19 comments:
How come you never can get quality ice cream on sale at Waldbaum's? (I sometimes frequent the branch in the shopping center on 31st Avenue in East Elmhurst.) Haagen Dazs always $5.49. Breyers also high-priced. Always "on sale"? - the loaded-with-air crap house brand. But if you go to Stop'n'Shop on 48th Street in Woodside, the quality ice cream is always on sale: Haagen Dazs: $3.50. Breyer's $2.50. The Great Wall Chinese supermarkets also have Haagen Dazs sometimes for $2.99!!!!
Waldbaums sucks. No ice cream for me.
(BTW Can any reader tell me where I can buy Starbucks ice cream? Yum-yum. They used to have it at a lot of supermarkets. Now-poof-gone! The Trade Fairs were the last places I could find it. But no longer there either. Thanks.)
Mr. Addabbo --- Please help!
Waldbaum's sucks everywhere! The only people that think it's a good store are those that have never left Queens.
The one at 35th Ave and Francis Lewis is totally ghetto, as is the one at Francis Lewis and Horace Harding.
The only decent places are Fairway, Trader Joe's and Stop n' Shop.
There's nowhere to shop in Flushing, Bayside, Whitestone or College Point. At least Forest Hills has The Natural.
C'mon Whole Foods - we have some money - please open here. Queens people are fat - we need organic produce - not just lettuce and carrots - but everything!
Ice cream is bad for ones health. It clogs the arteries...
Just open any product with visible mold or past it expiration date and discard the lid or wrapper so one will buy it. A lot of Queens supermarkets are going very down-market and you have to travel to Trader Joe, Stop 'n Shop, or warehouses like Costco or BJ's to get quality brands.
i'm in FH, forget whole foods. if you want to shop at whole foods then you have to drive to the one out in Jericho or the new one in brooklyn
once summer comes, i'll be driving my kids to the brooklyn one for their awesome ice cream
If you want fresh organic produce, you can't beat Queens health emporium on the LIE service road. They blow away Fairway for organic produce.
It's ashame how bad the Waldbaum is in NYC.....if you go out of state to Maryland or nj, the a &p (which owns waldbaums ) are very nice!
It's ashame how bad the Waldbaum is in NYC.....
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Let's face it, pretty much everything is better outside of NYC except $25 hamburgers.
Face it, unless you have tons of money and own property, the quality of life in NYC pretty much sucks.
Look who is living in these communities surrounding Waldbums. Not the best of the lot.
Why are there so few supermarkets available in Queens? I hate Waldbaum's. I know both the Francis Lewis and 35th Ave. one, and the one on Francis Lewis and Horace Harding. I don't know why Anon called them "ghetto". The Horace Harding one is the ONLY supermarket for miles around, and the one on 35th is very old and decrepit. Why is there only a choice between Waldbaum's and Key Food? Luckily I can go to the "ghetto" Stop n Shop on Northern Blvd. in Little Neck, or the big one on Hillside Ave. in New Hyde Park. Where's a Shop Rite? If you've ever been to a Wegman's, then you know what a real supermarket can be. The only other alternative is Fairway Douglaston. Whole Foods is very expensive. I'll drive to Trader Joe's on Old Country Rd. in Westbury at times, but why should I drive all over western Nassau County for decent groceries when I live in eastern Queens?
TJs does have a Queens store at Metropolitan Ave. and Woodhaven Blvd., though they might do well to invest in a few more Queens locations before the price/ space ratio gets out of hand.Perhaps we could do with a few less chain drugstores?As for Waldbaum's, it's been a sad decline since last we saw the matriarch's dour visage on a can.A&P and the Germans who own/run it sre still on course to bury the store in the not too distant... HB Waldbaum's? How's that working out for you,Mario?Regards from Bobby, Carlos and Bernie.
Whose the Councilman? The city Board of Health should be in these stores every day.
Waldbuam's sucks stopped going there and to Pathmark on woodhaven and Atlantic just as dirty and nasty. Stop n Shop is way better always good sales and fresh produce and meats.
howard beach is not ghetto,the majority of the residents there are middle and upper middle class and vote republican.so lousy conditions,neglect and incompetence does not discriminate the waldbaums in rockaway is immaculate,even after being closed for months because of Sandy.
I mentioned before that whole foods is a fraud,they train their workers to lie about how natural their produce is.
trader joe's will start gouging their customers too,because most of their customers are hipsters,tech dicks and hedge fund pirates,who don't give a shit about pissing their money away on inflated rents.
as for the board of health,they give A ratings to places like dunkin donuts and subway,places that if they rat feces and bugs in the food,it actually would be healthier.
Waulbaums are the only 2 grocery stores allowed in howard beach/lindenwood because building owners wont allow other supermarket chains in because they will hurt their businesses. Its a shame that us residents have to go into other neighborhoods and shop in their supermarkets to get good, quality foods at reasonable prices.
Coming to the rescue but not fast enough Shoprite next to Staples on Crossbay.
Key Food NOT Shoprite.
Waldbaums crossbay reminded me of a bodega in east NY stop n shop crossbay don't look any better
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