To the delight of grocery shoppers in northeast Queens, Fairway Market in Douglaston is only weeks away from its grand opening.
On November 16, Fairway – located at 242-02 61st Avenue in the Douglaston Plaza Shopping Center’s Lower Level – will take over the closed Waldbaum’s with 56,000-square-feet of wall-to-wall food products, fresh produce, a butcher shop, a 60-seat cafe and much more.
According to Howie Glickberg, Fairway’s third generation CEO, over 300 jobs have been added to the local economy, including expert department heads.
“The Douglaston area is, what I call, a food desert,” said Glickberg. “For whatever reason, there are just not a lot of food stores in that area. We are really going to shake everybody up.”
Glickberg says that Fairway is not your typical supermarket, as food products always come first. There will be household amenities available but the main focus will be on specialty imported items, organic and kosher foods, their full-service catering department and dozens of prepared hot foods from Fairway’s kitchen. From the family’s humble beginnings with a small fruit and vegetable stand in 1933, Glickberg has opened multiple Fairway Markets in the New York area, with the Douglaston location being the largest yet.
“Everybody is very happy and excited about the grand opening,” said Susan Seinfeld, district manager of Community Board 11. “The sooner, the better.”
The grand opening next month has been a process two years in the making after some zoning issues and a full renovation and expansion of the Waldbaum’s building. The store will be open from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week.
