Foodies Have Fun in Bay Ridge; We’ve Got Lots of Supermarkets!

February 2, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
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Bay Ridge — Is the neighborhood becoming a foodie’s paradise?
 
It could be, according to state Sen. Marty Golden, who said Bay Ridge has its fair share of supermarkets.
 
“I think we have enough supermarkets!” Golden said during his remarks at the Bay Ridge Community Council Presidents’ Luncheon on Jan. 28. “For a community that didn’t have that many, we’re now blessed with a lot.”
 
Only a few years ago, Bay Ridge had only a small handful of supermarkets. And those supermarkets were few and far between.
 
Residents who prefer to shop in supermarkets had to either walk long distances to do their food shopping, or drive to their favorite spots.
 
Supermarkets offer a more abundant variety of food items, according to local officials, who said the markets also offer good prices and coupon values for the shoppers on a budget.
 
From a dearth of supermarkets, there are now food markets all over the place in Bay Ridge.
 
There’s Key Food, on 69th Street between Ridge Boulevard and Third Avenue; Food City, on the corner of Third Avenue and 75th Street; Associated, on Third Avenue between 79th and 80th Streets; and Foodtown, on Third Avenue between 91st and 92nd streets; just to name a few.
 
There’s also Pioneer, on the corner of 86th Street and Gelston Avenue; and C-Town, on Fifth Avenue between 75th and 76th streets.
 
A new gourmet market will be opening up on Third Avenue and 81st Street, at the former site of Blockbuster Video, according to Josephine Beckmann, district manager of Community Board 10.
 
“We have certainly seen resurgence in supermarkets in our community,” Beckmann said.
 
The abundance of markets is good for the neighborhood, Beckmann added. 
 
“Many of our seniors and our young families like to have access to supermarkets,” she said. 
 
The large number of supermarkets “shows growth in the community,” she said.
 
Beckmann traces the influx of supermarkets to a loosening of strict regulations on the part of owners. 
 
“Supermarket owners used to shy away from spaces that were less than 10,000 square feet. That ruled out a number of places in Bay Ridge. When they became more flexible, it opened up a lot more possibilities for supermarkets to open here,” she said.
 
— Paula Katinas

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