TOUR: Food World Supermarket - South Jamaica, NY

Food World Supermarket

Owner: Harold Lee

Opened: 2000

Cooperative: Key Food

Location: 119-14 Sutphin Blvd, Queens, NY

Photographed: December 2018

This 25,000 square foot store was built as a Big R Food Warehouse, as were the Food Bazaar locations on Manhattan Ave and Wyckoff Ave in Brooklyn (along with others we haven't covered). While Food Bazaar bought several Big R locations, Harold Lee's company Food Jungle Inc. bought this location in 2000. The chain has expanded with additional locations in Jamaica (north), Valley Stream, and Brooklyn, NY; and Bloomfield, Belleville, Roselle, Linden, and soon Hopelawn and Long Branch, NJ. A short-lived location in Garden City Park, NY has closed.

Although Food World is no longer the discount store environment of Big R, it does have a value warehouse feeling to it. Produce and seafood make up the first aisle, with meats on the back wall and cold cuts in the first aisle. As usual, frozen foods are in the second to last aisle with dairy in the last and deli/bakery/hot food in the front corner.

Perhaps a little on the small side compared to the NJ locations, but very nice! The produce selection is very large, and the seafood counter is in an island at the back of the first aisle.

The back side of this seafood counter is lined with refrigerator cases displaying cold cuts.

And packaged meats on the back wall. I don't believe this store has a service butcher counter.

Most of the store has a high exposed ceiling, though the back 1/4 or so has a drop ceiling. I don't know how much work Food World did when they moved in 20 years ago, but it's possible they opened up the ceiling.

I believe some of the grocery aisles are split in half, as the store is about twice as deep as it is wide.

The floor is the one thing this store could really use some work on, as it has definitely seen better days. As you can see here in the dairy department, it's been patched many times.

Frozen foods with updated cases...

Deli, bakery, and hot food in the front corner (it's actually larger than it looks here, this is only about half of the department).

And before we head out, a look across the front end...

That about wraps up our tour of the Food World here in Jamaica! We will be touring the location in Belleville, NJ eventually... someday. Up next we're heading towards South Ozone Park!