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.)
H/T to EVG reader Jake Bialer!
6 comments:
Based on the reviews of the store on the LES, this doesn't seem like the greatest replacement for RiteAid, considering all the other good grocery brands out there.
Well lI guess it's better than another bank or bubble tea place and I wish them well. BUT I REALLY MISS RITE AID!
I'll give them a try, but it'll take a lot to pry my Wegmans seltzer from my stiff cold fingers.
I miss Rite Aid even more now that Walgreens was bought by private equity and took away employees holiday days off. Also assume the "efficiencies" of PE will wreck the brand further. So boycott Walgreens. There is always Block Drug over on Second and Sixth too. Good to know that it the space isn't a bank and may actually be useful to locals.
Aldi would be nice. This is just a generic grocery but will compete with Key Food.
You might not notice the small flyer posted outside the Metro Acres grocery on Grand Street…
The hidden camera reality show Impractical Jokers is shooting inside the store. The notice warns shoppers that, by entering, they consent to being videotaped for the show.
So beware, a trip to the neighborhood grocery could land you on a cable reality program.
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