The new CTown Supermarkets, located where Walgreens once stood at 58-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Ridgewood, welcomed customers during the store’s soft opening on Friday, Nov. 10.
Sam Koush, the store’s manager, who’s worked for CTown Supermarkets for over 17 years, said they’re gradually getting the store fully prepared for a grand opening expected to come sometime during the holidays.
The only concern on Koush’s mind as the store is fast on it’s way to fully opening is shoplifters — the same reasons given by Walgreens for store closures across the nation, but the grocery store man of a little more than a decade confidently said, “I’ll deal with it.”
Inside the supermarket on Friday morning, vendors stocked the portion of shelves not yet full, cashiers stood ready to check-out customers and shoppers took a look at the available produce.
Wilma Bonilla, who lives near the supermarket, decided to take her car to visit the store since she had to move it anyway because of alternate side parking rules.
“I see the floor is clean, everything is nice,” Bonilla said.
She also mentioned how people “don’t have to go to Fresh Pond Road,” every time they need groceries. The largest supermarket closest to the new location is the BJ’s on Metropolitan Avenue.
Additionally, some of the stand out features of the supermarket for residents were the deli counter, where a wide array of deli meats could be seen and a parking lot capable of fitting 13 cars with a designated handicap parking space in the front.
On top of the abundance of packaged goods on supermarket shelves, the freezer section was brightly lit, organized and mirrored that of the of fresh produce section in presentation. Freshly cut butcher meats were also packaged and ready for purchasing.
Ridgewood resident Teena Cheatwood, who lives only a block away from the new CTown, shared her excitement for the supermarket. She stopped for a moment to try and remember what the store looked like as a Walgreens, which wasn’t too hard, since the windows remain the same.
Cheatwood also acknowledged how the neighborhood lacked a supermarket that wasn’t the BJ’s Wholesale Club on Metropolitan Avenue and told QNS that the thought of not having to travel as far for groceries was exciting for her.
Speaking as a mother, one of her hopes for the store is to see the possibility of adding additional healthy food options for shoppers.
“Thinking about the neighborhood and the kind of foods CTown typically carries, maybe they can bring more organic foods in here, like stuff that you can find in Whole Foods, or like organic products for babies,” Cheatwood said.
On the social media platforms of Facebook and Reddit, news of a CTown Supermarkets coming to the Ridgewood neighborhood spread quickly, with some users sharing their excitement ahead of the store’s opening.
QNS has reached out to CTown Supermarkets’ media relations firm, Alpha 1 Marketing, and store management to stay informed on when the grand opening of the store will take place.
