A former Rego Park supermarket has now become the home of a bustling holiday market and indoor carnival.
Rego Park residents all knew and loved the old Pioneer Supermarket. After a couple of years of the Pioneer being closed, the owners of the store, Allen Aminov, Tony Carbonaro and Ioannis “Yani” Pierros, decided it was time to start to use the space, and the Rego Park Market was born.
“The Pioneer closed two and a half to three years ago and the space wasn’t being used,” Aminov said. “We decided to open the space as a holiday market because we wanted the community to have a place to go for the holidays.”
The Rego Park Market takes place inside the old Pioneer Supermarket, located at 99-01 63rd Rd. Open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., the market currently has about 60 vendors that offer a variety of one-of-a-kind products and services.
“We have businesses that offer a wide spectrum of offerings,” Aminov said. “We have a booth for New York Life Insurance, jewelry and antique sellers, tables with comic books collectibles and some really beautiful art, just to name a few.”
The latest addition to the Rego Park Market is an indoor carnival complete with a bouncy obstacle course, classic carnival games, raffles and prizes. In this densely populated neighborhood, there isn’t much in terms of local entertainment for children. The Rego Park Market offers a safe space where children can play while their parents can shop.
“We have all kinds of games, the ring toss, the goldfish game and a crayon bouncy castle,” Aminov said. “This is like an indoor street fair.”
On Dec. 17, the Rego Park Market will be hosting a special Chanukah Carnival, which will feature live music, a magic show, raffles and prizes. The market will go through the holiday season, but there are hopes to expand it into the spring and summer.
For information about the market or becoming a vendor, call Aminov at 516-400-6082.
