C Town

3stars for the lovely people who work there. –1star for the crap they have to peddle. Bought a package of chicken nuggets and found the box was open already and missing some nuggets.

I’ve lived a block or less from this location for five years, and now that Foodtown exists I go there most of the time. That should tell you something. They’ve worked hard to upgrade, but you’ll still see things like unrefrigerated dairy sitting in the aisles (butter, yogurt, cheese). Produce can be hit-​or-​miss. Checkout is almost always slow, almost to a bizarre degree. The ATM in the front also does not work or will take more than 1 minute to process the transaction.
Almost everything wrong with this place has to do with bad management, and it’s really too bad as the location is spacious and should at least be able to compete with Foodtown.

I like this place sometimes the sales can be inconsitent but its convenient and the people who work there are nice for the most part. I wish they had more choices are fars non brands when it comes to cereal, candy and meats like salami. But overall i have been coming here for years and its not all that bad.

Disgusting quality food and equally bad customer service. I’ve never returned food to a super market before until I shopped at c town and the manager could not have been ruder to me for returning food that was not edible. It’s unfortunate it’s block from my apartment. I’d rather walk the extra 5 minutes to foodtown.

I go here because I live around the corner and foodtown is a trek.
It’s alright. The prices are high, the selection can be weird and the sales are infrequent. But its a large market and I live around the corner, so I go there. It isn’t that clean, the produce is kinda shitty (go to Mr Pena 4 blocks directly south) and the meat is… alright.
If you want great food and great selection go to foodtown.

Watch out! What they advertise on sale really isn’t. You HAVE to watch when they scan at the register. You might end up buying something that you thought was on sale, but actually wasn’t. If you tell them, they will investigate and are usually good about fixing the mistake, but this happens every time. Be vigilant at the register.

How dare they price gouge old ladies into paying $ 6.99 for a half gallon of milk when the blizzard happened!!! Watch out BBB!

This store is ok for quick shopping. It can be a little narrow while trying to get through the isles. You must keep your eyes on the cash register, because whats on sale will ring up as regualr price (even with the preferred card). Check the meat to make sure its fresh I poke holes in the plastic and smell it SORRY, this prevenmts me from getting home and its spoiled. I find it to be a liitle overpriced and they mark things up often.

Not Stroller-​Friendly & Terrible Customer Service!
If you want high prices for mediocre quality food — then Ctown/Billy’s Market Place is the place to go! The aisles are dirty and cramped (not stroller or wheel-​chair accessible) and you better check all their food for mold and expiration dates because they will sell you rotten meat and milk. If you ask for an exchange (after leaving the store), you’ll get scolded for your stupidity. I live a block away, but I’d rather go to Foodtown…

Good selection of healthy organic foods but they’re a little pricey. I feel like I can go to other local markets and save some money when my budgets tight.

Check your receipt before leaving. Just bought 6 items and was overcharged for 2 of them, making my bill $ 14 instead of $ 10.
If you can make it to Tops on N.6^th, go there instead. Better quality produce, better selection and they don’t display false prices.

Why does everybody got get down on c-​town? I mean they do the trick?
I would put them on par with Gristedes, affordable, and with a decent selection, but they’re no whole foods. They are *HUGE* by comparison to any grocery store in Manhattan, that I’ll definitely add.
I was in desperate need of more food two hours after Carino, and a jersey quarter cocktail at post office. They carried sushi takeout so I grabbed a tray and checked out.
Just minutes before the 11pm closing!

Kassy M. reviewed this just before me– she has 15 check ins, and yet it doesn’t seem like she’s ever set foot in the store!
The place is about as dingy as everyone describes, but it isn’t pretending to be anything more than it is… a large grocer providing to the lower-​middle income families of the area (Williamsburg has a history afterall, gentrification and development hasn’t forced absolutely everyone out). As for the ‘miserable workers,’ they are pretty much archetypical characters of the neighborhood… actually wait… have you ever stepped into a Duane Reade before? The people at C-​Town are practically floating on air, in comparison.
All I really know is, once upon a time I depended on C-​Town as an economic alternative to Whole Foods (or even Tops on the Waterfront)… I’d hop on my bike, and go pick up a porterhouse (I once paid $ 13 for one– sounds gross right? It was delicious!!), or pork shoulder, and a case of beer– and I knew my total would be less than $ 20.
If you want someone to stroke your ego while providing you with delicious fresh groceries at low prices… move to Portland, Oregon (bitch)!

This place is dirty, the produce is horrible (even by NYC standards… and they refrigerate their tomatoes), the prices are more expensive than Whole Foods (seriously, $ 6 for a pack of veggie dogs, are you kidding me?), and the perishable food they stock is often expired (I’ve made the mistake of buying expired yogurt here and I’ve seen moldy bread on the shelves) and they deny just about all coupons (they wouldn’t let me use a free coupon… the company reimburses the price… perhaps they are just too exorbitantly priced to be reimbursed?). I hope the new Foodtown a few blocks away either forces them into better practices or forces them out of business. They shouldn’t be able to get away with the shit they do.

I come here out of convenience and affordability (compared to other places in the neighborhood) more than the quality of their products or customer service… and I have a feeling that others feel the same way.
Their meats & produce are very iffy, and I don’t really trust it. C-​Town gets the job done if you are looking for basics, but unless it is a generic brand, they will not carry it.
The workers always seem extremely miserable.

When I first shopped here 6 years ago it was set up as if they were bracing for a robbery — which, frankly, I think they were. The registers were in a semi-​circle, there was a barricade and you had to check any bags or items.
One day I went there for cheese, what the hey. And I was shocked to see it normalized: registers aligned, vegetable-​misters, decent deli counter, organic this and that. The neighborhood is utterly white-​ified, thus the new owners made a move towards catering to the frail and fragile youth with money. White folks are easily frightened, so they did their best to clean up their act. I have complained again and again about the bread selection, as its all corporate yucky, heavy on the sugar.
I recommend locals check this place out — its better than some, worse than others. This ain’t the suburbs; its an underserved, suddenly-​hip soho-​like area. You don’t find a lot of great, inexpensive markets in Soho or Ludlow street either, frankly. Appreciate what semi-​oases are there!

A-​OK… well only because it’s only OK.
For basic items, like boxed things or generic brand items, it’s fine. I agree with Lulu M — we go there because it’s a block and half down the street, and when we need something we can just run over there. Their prices are a little high, and I’m surprised because #1 we’re in an area where people use a lot of food stamps and #2 it’s a chain.
My suggestion: if you go to this store location, you’re only 3 stops on the L from Union Square. Go to Whole Foods and get your produce. IT’S NOT EXPENSIVE! Common misconception. $ 1.99 for organic green leaf lettuce that is fresh, compare to C-Town’s gross produce, it’s worth the trip across the river. Also, the meat at C-​Town is brown, old, and looks like it’s been sitting out. Whole Foods has regular meat at a better quality, and the price is just the same.

I only go to C-​town because it is closest to me and much much cheaper than, say, Khim’s. The produce is okay, the selection is okay, the prices are only partially inflated, the staff is generally underwhelming (though I’d rather experience the silent treatment from the cashiers mentioned by other reviewers than the creepy kissy noises I’ve gotten from bag men)…
If you ever saw the meat dump truck when it comes to take their meat garbage from there (and by «saw» I mean «smelled»), you would probably never buy meat from there again– the smell is enough to knock a man down. I know it’s their refuse, not their current product, but why do they have meat so close to utter rot? Oh, probably because when they are unloading, much of their product, meat included, will sit on the sidewalk for 30 minutes in the summer sun.
My biggest complaint is that the ice cream always has ice crystals and/​or is freezer-​burned! It is obviously not kept at a consistent temperature. The top layer is sometimes nearly inedible.

Let me get this out of the way. I’m a bit of an odd duck. You see, I’ve always loved going to the grocery. Perhaps it’s from memories of shopping with my mum when I was young and trying to sneak in candies and spinner rack comics. Or maybe the perfect opposite and I never quite lost the happy feeling of independence of buying those terrible things for myself and it being okay to do so. Who knows? It’s just one of those inexplicable things I adore. like old gas station hot dogs with the tough skin, or guys with little feet.
So moving to New York was a near tragedy, where sprawling suburban shopping centers are a no go. But now. Now every week or so I happily make the 10 block walk, past a couple dozen places smaller than my room that bear the name «grocery» on their signage, to get to C-​Town. This place is lovely for us transplants, it’s so big! Almost like being in a REAL grocery store! The meat and bakery sections are still a little janky, if you have you alternate places for that stuff, use them. But for your catchall grocery items it’s pretty decent. Good prices and smattering of foods to please this picky neighborhood, like the array of whole wheat choices or the bloated tea section (though no loose choices. Boo!)
Also, the true reason behind loving to grocery shop? The scene. Oh yes, the grocery scene in this neighborhood is lovely. I’m single. I need to eat to live. So do most other people, if I understood those biology classes, so it’s a natural match. It’s near impossible to not bump into lovely young men here. Literally bump into them I mean, the aisles are quite narrow. And you can tell so much about someone from their basket. Like the fetching bearded fellow today who shared my love for both generic brand sugar cereals (Mmmm coco roos) AND hemming and hawing over which whole wheat bread brand is thickest (please don’t look at me funny while I squeeze the loaves. That’s just rude.)
So to sum: Decent size, decent prices, decent selection, good neighbors.
I’m down.

Granted these guys have come a long way in the 10+ years I have lived here, but man… they still kinda suck. I go here when I am guilty of a splurge on something else. Like I just spent $ 400 on a silk Diane Von Furstenberg top, let’s just SAY. See, when I do something foolish like that, I will then punish myself by saving a few bucks by going to C-​town instead of Tops.
A few positives… the produce is better than what it used to be. They now have an organic veg section and their lettuces are pretty good (and not pre packaged– !!! — like they used to be). They also have Bell and Evans chicken and some other organic meat producers. If you are cooking mexican/​puerto rican/​dominican/​south american/​central american/​whatevs, they will have some pretty hard to find spices, sauces and other ingredients. The prices are also better than Tops.
The trouble for me lies within the staff. They drive me insane. The cashiers want to cut me and the bag dudes are wicked scary (except for the mentally challenged man, who is very nice actually– the only nice person in there). The mamacitas who shop there pretty much hate me (and you) for no reason and like to throw their weight around, sometimes literally– on me. Sometimes the manager at the door makes you check your bag (YA RIGHT) and you have to fight with him to let you in with it. Whatever, I can handle it, but these few things are not what a pleasant grocery shopping experience make.
Hopefully I can curb my spending so I don’t have to subject myself to this 3 ring circus too much more. Wish me luck.