We’ve Got The Scoop On What’s Going On At The Old Met Foods Building On Brighton Beach Avenue

The old Met Foods building at 100 Brighton Beach Ave has been vacant for four years, and work has finally begun to turn it into the grocery and convenience store that the neighborhood lost when Met Foods left in 2012.

The new store, which is currently titled Brighton Beach Deals in its lease, will work to accommodate those left out to dry by Met Foods’ departure, according to the building owner Suzette Bonsignore, whose family has owned the building since the early 1940s.

“We want the community to be happy with what we put in there,” said Bonsignore, who grew up in Brighton Beach and now lives in Manhattan Beach. “It’s very important to us that the community is satisfied.”

The new store will be divided into two sections. In one section, there will be the groceries and in the other section will be everyday items such as paper goods and laundry detergent.

“They had the supermarket there for a long time and they were good tenants. They were getting older and we were trying to get the best possible venture we could find,” said Bonsignore. “We had a difficult time finding connections. Finally, we found A.J. [Sarin] through Igor [Libo], thank god, and now were on our way to making dreams come true.”

Sarin is the new tenant of the building, and Libo is the real estate broker that put him in touch with Bonsignore. They’re hoping to help the neighborhood with the new business.

“We wanted something similar to what Met Foods used to be for the community; something where you could buy zip lock bags and peanut butter,” said Igor Libo.

The Met Foods left the location in 2012 causing residents to either do their shopping at the fancy Russian stores on Brighton Beach Avenue where the signs are rarely in English or travel half a mile to the Key Foods on Neptune Avenue, or the other nearest Met Foods on Kings Highway in Midwood which is about five miles away.

On occasion, employees of the former Met Foods would deliver groceries to seniors in the neighborhood during inclement weather so they wouldn’t have to leave the safety of their homes. They would even let certain customers pay them back if they didn’t have the money to pay for groceries up front.

The new store owner said that they will see how things move when they open and will consider continuing the grocery deliveries that benefited the community so much.

Sarin has also discussed his plans with City Councilmember Chaim Deutsch.

“I’ve been working with this establishment and discussed bringing in kosher food that will meet the basic needs of the many seniors that reside in and around the community so they do not have to travel far,” said Deutsch. “He was very receptive of the idea. I’m looking forward to working with him to revitalize that corner that has been an eyesore for many years.”

The map that is shown above displays affordable and generic grocery stores in southern Brooklyn such as Key Foods and Stop & Shop. The spread shows significant dead spots where there are none within walking distance. This is troublesome because it is difficult for people to walk as far as five miles to grocery shop.

The new grocery store on Brighton Beach Avenue will help with that issue in Brighton Beach, but other neighborhoods are still suffering from the lack of affordable, close-by grocery stores.

Park Slope is facing a similar issue with their Key Foods, which might be replaced with a residential building. Windsor Terrace was thankful to have a Walgreens replace their longed-for Key Foods after it had closed.

Sarin is hoping to be open for the holiday season, around Thanksgiving. But, with the pending approval of some permits, it could be delayed a bit longer. They will definitely be open by 2017, assured Libo.

So how will the arrival of this new grocery store benefit you? How far were you traveling to get groceries before?