BREAKING: Nostrand Pathmark To Be Replaced By Aldi Food Market, Opening October 2013

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Neighbors who want a Trader Joe’s to replace Pathmark at 3785 Nostrand Avenue may be happy to learn that Aldi, a low-cost food market owned by Trader Joe’s parent company, will soon serve up fresh produce and other groceries from the currently defunct storefront beginning late next year.

A customer service representative for the international company confirmed to Sheepshead Bites that Aldi is slated to open at 3785 Nostrand Avenue in October 2013.

Aldi, based in Germany, operates more than 1,200 stores in the United States, and is owned by the same parent company as Trader Joe’s. The company has been growing, with plans to add 80 stores this year to its roster of 75 existing operations. They opened their first two New York City locations in 2011 – first in Queens and a second in the Bronx. And, earlier this month, they celebrated the grand opening of a Manhattan location.

DNAinfo reported on the Manhattan opening, noting the following:

Aldi keep prices low by purchasing in bulk from food suppliers and making their own Aldi brands. Approximately 95 percent of the products in the store are sold under Aldi’s brand labels. The store carries a tight selection of 1,400 products with occasional special buys from national retailers and seasonal items such as pumpkins.

They also operate Spartan stores where customers are required to deposit a quarter in order to get a shopping cart. They get the quarter back when they return the cart, freeing employees from having to spend time tracking the carts.

The news outlet was also among the first to hint at the opening of a Nostrand Avenue location, saying that one was planned somewhere along the strip in late 2013.

A now-expired job posting by the company on CareerPath.com pinpointed the address to that of the former site of Pathmark. The company’s customer service rep confirmed the address and the expected opening date to Sheepshead Bites this morning.

Recently, local pols including Councilman Lew Fidler and Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein have noted at civic meetings that a deal had been forged, but declined to go into details, saying that the project was in the hands of the Brooklyn Borough President.

Although he would not confirm that Aldi Food Market would take the location, Fidler did tell Sheepshead Bites that the Borough President is expected to make an announcement about a new market later this week.

“[Getting a supermarket is] something that [Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein] and [Borough President Marty Markowitz] and I have been pushing Lefrak to do. We turned down other suggestions for the locations both from Lefrak and interested parties, such as a catering hall, and we’re very pleased,” Fidler said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that a supermarket in that location is going to be a good thing, especially for the seniors. And it’s going to be a terrific thing for the other businesses on that stretch of Nostrand Avenue because it will bring people there to shop.”

The Pathmark at 3785 Nostrand Avenue has been closed since April 2011, after its owner, A&P, filed for bankruptcy. It was one of 32 stores closed in six states, and caused the loss of approximately 100 workers locally. The Aldi representative could not say how many jobs the new location would create.

It’s not yet clear when the deal became official, but as of April 2012, the Lefrak Organization, which owns the property, confirmed that they were still seeking prospective tenants.