Met Foods Closing On 18th Avenue In Kensington This Week
The Met Foodmarket on 18th Avenue at East 4th Street is set to close this week after more than 20 years in Kensington.
Neighbor Leslie Fraidstern told DPC that the building has been sold to a developer who plans to build apartments. We didn’t find recent sale records for this property, but the listing notes that the building has been “off market” since April, so a sale may be pending. We’ll continue to watch this property as it develops.
Records for the registered owners, Ohkil and Eunhee Park, date back to 1996 but appear on mortgage titles dating back to 1983, according to PropertyShark.
Though it could seem like a run-of-the-mill supermarket, many locals were attached to this outpost. “They were never the best lit or flashiest markets but the friendliness of the people who worked there always made up for what the store lacked in decor,” said Neil B. on Yelp.
The Kensington storefront has a long history of retail, serving as a piano repair shop in 1945 and a variety store in 1965, according to public records.
DPC mentioned this Met Foods in 2013 when the New York State Department of Agriculture found four mouse-related health violations at the supermarket including mouse-gnawed food, mouse carcasses lying in traps, and mouse droppings in the food storage areas. Note that another Kensington supermarket, Foodtown on McDonald Avenue, was also stamped with three violations. Check how your local market fared on the 2013 interactive map here.
For many neighbors, the Met Foods has not only been a part of Kensington’s history but an everyday necessity. For those who don’t shop at more expensive organic co-ops or Kosher stores nearby, and for people who don’t drive, the loss of a local grocery store is a big deal.
Karen Rosen says:
I remember how the line to get into the store stretched around the block when they opened 21 years ago. At that time, there were no supermarkets nearby since Waldbaums had left. It’s just disheartening to me since we are surrounded by large apartments that so many elderly and/or disabled people will be inconvenienced by the lack of a nearby supermarket.
We asked the owner why the store was closing but she declined to comment. One neighbor, however, said that business has slowed since the opening of the 24-hour Shoprite on McDonald Avenue between Foster and Avenue I.
