Young artists from Central America are creating this mural outside Key Food

Here's an in-progress look at the mural underway outside Key Food on Avenue A and Fourth Street.

Artolution — "a community-based public art organization that seeks to ignite positive social change through collaborative art making" — is behind this project.

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Here we go! After days of planning and developing their own characters, our young artists are diving in to the mural experience here in the East Village! Hailing from Central America, many have faced great struggles in their young lives, but their resilience is evident as they create an artistic monument for the whole city to experience. @artolution @kj3t @joelartista @theremustbemorelight @weareroyale @supportkind @styledwithsubstance #asylumseekers #immigrantart #muralart #communityart #youthempowerment #eastvillage #les #joelartista #youthpower #artolution #centroamerica

A post shared by Artolution (@artolution) on Jul 2, 2019 at 5:43am PDT

No Romaine holiday

Key Food on Avenue A appears to be romaine-lettuce free after yesterday's urgent CDC safety alert...

CDC is advising that U.S. consumers not eat any romaine lettuce, and retailers and restaurants not serve or sell any, until we learn more about the outbreak. This investigation is ongoing and the advice will be updated as more information is available.

• Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce in their home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick.
• This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad.
• If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.
• Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where romaine was stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.
• Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing romaine.

CDC officials believe that it may be contaminated with E. coli. To date, 32 people, including 13 who have been hospitalized, have been infected with the outbreak strain in 11 states, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, Key's sale on the Urban Meadow handle roasters continues... two varieties going for $2.99.

On Avenue A, Key Food deploying 12 new self-checkout machines

Big news from Key Food on Avenue A last night, where workers were hooking up 12 new self-checkout machines ... an EVG reader shared these photos from the store at Fourth Street...



No word yet just how intuitive these new self checkouts will be... and if they will be programmed to comment on your purchases. "There's a reason those are on sale." "Hey, it's your colon." "Hmm, 10 pints of Halo Top?"

In any event, four cashier-assisted lanes will remain — the same number as before. Per the reader, Key Food staff reported mixed feelings about the new machines. Still, Key insiders hope for an improved shopper experience.

Meanwhile, the previous self-checkout systems have been shown the curb...



Perhaps a little karma for shoppers frustrated by being told to scan an item again even though they've already scanned the thing multiple times, or being prompted to remove an item from the bagging area even though they've already scanned the item and placed it in the bagging area... and now you have to wait for customer service to reset the machine and people waiting in line behind you think you're stupid.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking: The self checkouts at Key Food are broken

Breaking: Models invade Key Food, hold melons

Watts up with the bright lights inside Key Food?

If you still have a pair of solar eclipse glasses, then you may want to bring them along the next time that you shop at Key Food on Avenue A... the grocery's new lights, as I discovered this morning, provide the ambiance of an interrogation room...



... perhaps this is an attempt to get people in and out of the store more quickly...



Anyway!

This is just the latest new development here ... joining the new Key logo that arrived in late July...


[Photo by EVG reader Steph]


[Photo from Aug. 1]

Key is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year...

Gigi leaves a request for Key Food; weekend ruined?

Gigi wants to know where the Yasso S’mores frozen Greek yogurt bars are... Key's frozen dessert section doesn't have them ... and she left some Post-it® Notes about it on the freezer doors here on Avenue A...

H/T Stacie Joy

Noted

An EVG reader shared the above photo from this afternoon... a new arrival at Key Food on Avenue A and Fourth Street — a promo for Citi Habitats (the number and info is for the Upper West Side office) inside the entrance to the grocery store... apparently two people ran into it before Key personnel adjusted its placement.

It appears from the photo that the bottom portion of the display might hold, say, disposable plastic cutlery and napkins...

Meanwhile, at your all-new St. Patrick's Day HQ

Key Food going all out this year on Avenue A with this inspiring display, which includes, randomly or not, bags of Lay's potato chips.

Thanks to Stacie Joy for the photo.

Key Food has a sale on Sno Balls

Perfect for today's weather...

Key Food will no longer sell loose beer on Avenue A

Meanwhile, in the beer aisle/section at Key Food...noting a recent change in the way beer is sold here on Avenue A at Fourth Street...

How do you feel about Key Food's recent decision to stop selling single beers?

This will likely cause me to drink more because I will have to buy full six or 12 packs.

It's actually a better deal to buy a full six or 12 pack or case, research has shown

It doesn't matter because I get my beer delivered via Fresh Direct

I only binge drink on weekends

Beer Store!

 

pollcode.com free polls

It appears very possible that you can't use cash at this self checkout at Key Food

Despite all the signage, EVG Self-Checkout Correspondent Stacie Joy noted that several that people here at the Key on Avenue A and East Fourth Street tried to use cash anyway...

Breaking: The self checkouts at Key Food are broken

Uh-oh! If you planned on shopping on Key on Avenue A today, then be prepared for some longer lines… Vinny & O report that the self checkouts remain down. A technician is on the scene… and he is on the phone.

Current Key mood: Chaos!

Report: The Union Square Food Emporium will become a Key Food

[Photo via]

Back in July, A&P filed for chapter 11, its second bankruptcy of the decade. According to published reports, the grocery chain, whose brands include The Food Emporium, Pathmark and Waldbaum’s, plans to sell or close most stores.

As for the Food Emporium on East 14th Street in the base of the Zeckendorf Towers, one industry publication reports that this location will be sold to Key Food…



No word just yet on the timing of the transition … one EVG reader noted that some shelves are no longer being restocked….

Key Food is out of flowers

Raymond and company apparently did a brisk business selling flowers Sunday in honor of Bono's birthday Mother's Day...

So if you want flowers, then maybe you can come back here on Avenue A and East Fourth Street tonight at 11...



Photos by Stacie Joy

Raymond

A familiar presence selling flowers outside Key Food on Avenue A and East Fourth Street...

Photo by Stacie Joy

Ahead of possibly historic blizzard, Key Food shoppers pretty much making a mess

That's not where you found the oatmeal!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner ... and next to the Entenmann's at Key Food

It's never too soon to say it seems awfully early to start selling Valentine's candy.

More scenes from outside Key Food yesterday

Where the dumpster was set up for employees to pitch produce and other items... I've heard varying accounts of the scene here. (I didn't see this.) A few news accounts painted this as an apocalyptic scene.

Here's the view from London at the Daily Mail:

Shocking images captured groups of residents sifting through garbage outside a Key Food supermarket at Avenue A and East 4th Street in the East Village yesterday.

Families, elderly people and young residents were seen climbing into the dumpster hunting for whatever they could find to eat.

Here are photos from Edward Arrocha, who noted via Facebook:

Outside of Key Food, a trip. Kudos to C-squat for liberating the food... but shame on the horders who took so much more then their fare share in spite of hungry neighboors... share, repost, let the world see New York...

And C-Squat residents later cooked up the food for any hungry neighbors...

[Updated] The line to checkout at Key Food at 3 p.m.

Via an EVG reader...

The good news: They have plenty of Bounty left.

Updated

The scene at 6:50 via EVG regular jdx ...

What do you think of the new carts at Key Food?

EVG regular Stacie Joy mentioned this to us the other day... we hadn't been in the store in some time... So we looked.

Sporty. Less bulky than the old ones, which you can still find chained up here and there... (The Key folks told us that a Key Foods in Queens "adopted" the older carts.)

Perhaps the newly remodeled store is gearing up to meet the competition of the incoming Union Market on Avenue A and East Houston.

Key Food sign is fresh!

Through the months we've been looking at the under-renovation Key Food on Avenue A and East Fourth Street... (We wrote about it here ... and here...)

One remaining thing to examine — the sign out front. Workers removed the old one.

Which we didn't even remember exactly what it looked like. So through the magic of Google...

Dave on 7th sent along this photo showing that the new sign was in place. Uh, looks like the old one. Well, if you click on the image, you can see the fonts are a little different. (Is there a font person in the house?)

And the smaller Key sign now sports a Fresh.

Does Fresh here mean like invigorated? Or, say, saucy? Or both?

Previously on EV Grieve:
How do you feel about the renovated Key Food?