Last week, I drove past the site that formerly housed Duane Reade—the ridiculous drug store as I used to call it–because I never saw one person pull into the lot and if I happened in to go in, it was just me and the employees. But almost 10 months after the storm, there was finally some news about what was ahead.
With the permanent closing of the store, I, along with many of my friends and neighbors, fantasized about the opportunity of something great coming to Cross Bay. Of course there was a lot of cheering for a Whole Foods but the property is definitely too small and parking insufficient. Many cravings for all those specialty products currently unavailable to us would certainly have been answered with Trader Joe’s, but that fantasy has come to an end as well.
A banner that proclaims the coming of Almonte’s Key Food now hangs on the former Duane Reade and dispels any myth or mystery. Howard Beach is getting a new supermarket. Speculation among residents runs the gamut between entries like, “Key Food? That’s what we get?” to, “Maybe it will keep Waldbaums on their toes.”
As one who is on record regarding the disgraceful Waldbaums supermarket situation, I see the coming of Key Food as a sort of blessing without any disguise. Right off the bat we can say with some assurance that it can’t be as bad as Waldbaums.
Part of the reason for that opinion is after seeing the sign, I visited the Food Dynasty Supermarket on Woodhaven Boulevard which is also owned by Almonte’s. It is a relatively small market, but had a good selection and offered reliable sale prices. Several internet rating sites including bundle.com, which is labeled as data driven and unbiased, said that consumers found Almonte’s Food Dynasty to have a very high overall rating due to popularity and customer loyalty.
Even though Walbaums is lacking in quality, selection and service, we were never able to stand up against them before because we really had no other choice. While I hardly think I will forego all of my trips to Fairway and Trader Joe’s once Key Food moves in, I can say with relative ease that Key Food represents something we are presently without— a choice. Whether they choose to capitalize on their captive audience upon their arrival is their choice. I’m pretty sure all eyes will be upon Key Food with the chance to capture their market share.
I’ll see you in the aisles.
By Patricia Adams
