Metro Acres Market confirmed for former East Village Rite Aid

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The grocery conversion of the former Rite Aid on the SW corner of First Avenue and Fifth Street continues. 

And now we can reveal the brand: Metro Acres Market. 

Ennis Said, an owner, confirmed the name and said they are aiming for a mid-February opening.

While it is not related to the other Metro Acres Markets, residents may be familiar with the brand. One opened several years back at 175 Clinton St. between East Broadway and Grand Street in Seward Park. 

A Metro Acres Market also opened in the Bronx (in a space that housed a Rite Aid and later a Walgreens) in July. A review of that location in The Market Report referred to it as "a pleasant, attractive store." 

This outpost has a deli with grab-and-go items. The Bronx market doesn't have a bakery, though it carries items from local bakeries like Terranova and Zaro's. No word yet about a bakery in the EV store. 

Said, who also owns Food Universe stores in Brooklyn with his siblings, said he is partnering with his brothers here — "just a few young guys eager to grow and get involved with the community." 

The East Village Rite Aid closed on Aug. 24 after five weeks of going-out-of-business sales. The 63-year-old pharmacy chain filed for bankruptcy twice in two years before shutting down entirely last month. 

The EV lease for the 8,500-square-foot space was auctioned off this past summer. (The auction was just for the lease, set to expire in January 2032, not the building.)