The Independent Edition

North Shore Farms Owner:  Nick Katopodis Opened:  December 2018 Cooperative:  Krasdale Location:  153-01 10th Ave, Whitestone, NY Photographed:  December 2019 In December 2018, Long Island chain North Shore Farms opened up shop in half of a former Waldbaum's (which was, let's be honest, kind of weird-looking ). The Waldbaum's had closed in the 2016 A&P bankruptcy, and although the renovations took a very long time, they were surely worth it. Only the left half of the former Waldbaum's is the supermarket, with the right half being a CVS. The supermarket is approximately 23,000 square feet of the 40,000 square foot Waldbaum's, but it feels enormous. Let's get one thing very clear at the start here: it's been a long, long time since I was in a store this impressive. And I've photographed over 1300 grocery stores, so that says something. The presentation is top-notch, but more importantly the products are far higher quality than near...

The northern part of Queens is approximately split in half north-south by a variety of features including the Flushing Bay on the northern end and the Grand Central Parkway, with the Citi Field, the Queens Zoo, the Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and a few other things down the middle. If you think about splitting the borough roughly into four quadrants, it would go like this: northwest, which is what we have been doing, except for Ridgewood which we'll hit at the same time as Bushwick over in Brooklyn; southwest, which includes Woodhaven, Ozone Park, and Richmond Hill; southeast, which includes Jamaica, St. Albans, and the JFK airport; and northeast, Flushing, Bayside, Fresh Meadows, and the northern part of Jamaica. The last one is the quadrant we're attacking next, before we make a brief trip out to Long Island and then back to Queens for the southern quadrants. The eastern half of Queens is far more suburban than the western half, much more like Long Island than the rest ...

Maspeth Marketplace Owner:  Danny Doleh Opened:  2017 (as Maspeth Marketplace), 2005 (as Key Food) Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  66-56 Grand Ave, Maspeth, NY Photographed:  July 2018 Wrapping up Maspeth with one more store, which was formerly a Key Food. When the Key Food down the street opened, the beloved 6400 square foot old store was converted into the Maspeth Marketplace. It does in fact have a tiny parking lot, though the owners also allow Maspeth Marketplace customers to park in the Key Food lot. So if I remember correctly, produce and meat line the right side, with deli in an island in the middle. Dairy and frozen line the left wall. The aisles actually run diagonally from front left to back right, as this store is tiny even by New York City standards. Because the store was well-liked, the owners focused on maintaining continuity ("same owners, new name!") and keeping the Key Food logo on the posters and awning. Notice...