Key Food Natural & Organic Market

I coupon. I read circulars. I’m not there to make nice-​nice with checkout girls. They have a parking lot. DONE.

Besides the stupidly high prices, this place has ripped me off on two separate occasions. Highly inattentive and downright thieving staff triple scanned items and ignored customer requests. Screw convenience, it’s worth the few extra blocks to avoid!

Convenient. Well stocked. Over priced market that is likely a real hardship for locals who probably feel compelled to use it out of convenience.

Great selection, super friendly staff easy parking, hours always work and good foods– respectable cheese selection — nice fruits and veggies, good healthy choices. Organic selection and a couple of times I put in special requests for new items and they were there the next time I shopped!

The staff here is really nice and they have a good selection, for the neighborhood, of organic goods. Unfortunately they have a real problem with I don’t want to say bait and switch, but advertised prices often being way lower than the actual price of items rung into the register. For example, Tofurkey on sale for 2/​$ 5 will ring in at $ 3.99 each, or 2/​$ 8. Or something with a price label on the shelf of $ 3.19 will ring in at $ 4.99. This has been going on for years, and happens pretty much every time I go here. I’ve stopped using Key Food as my regular grocery store because of it. They are always happy to void the transaction and give you the right price, but other grocery stores in the area I never have this problem with, and I feel better about giving my hard-​earned money to. Oh, also, I’ve found when I’ve gotten home that some items have been past their expiration dates as well and no good — sour milk, moldy yogurt.

The tall male Caucasian manger with the white hair is a RACIST! He stalked me and my african American brother to the register and strained his eyes to look through the plastic bag to make sure that I purchased the Worechestshire sauce that I had in my hand. I would rather spend my money at the associated on the next block over

I spent about an hour in here trying to look for something I could even consider eating. There was not much in my basket on the way out. The shop is so unorganised, looks like they put items randomly where they can find a spot and not in the isle where it belongs. Good luck finding anything…

Anyone complaining about high prices for organic /​fair-​trade /​specialty goods at this Key Food has clearly never been to Sunac (where everything is marked up at least 10%) or Whole Foods for that matter. The prices at this Key Food are the exact same as the one I used to visit when I lived in the Financial District, so let’s get real and talk about how your organic, artisan cheese will cost $ 8.99 everywhere, not just at the Williamsburg Key Food. This is the only grocery store in the area that carries a wide selection of health /​organic food products alongside jugs of Sunny-​D. And, they keep everything stocked up.
It’s really convenient, plus it has its own parking lot which is great. The first few times it was a little tricky to navigate, but now that I’m a regular it’s not an issue. All the aisles are clearly labeled, and the few times I’ve needed help locating something I’ve been helped with no problem. The place is pretty big and never overly crowded. Read: I never get the overwhelming feeling I do at a Whole Foods when I am surrounded by so many people it seems like a grocery shopping death marathon. Never had to wait too long to be helped at checkout, and they let me use my reusable grocery bags with no fuss.
The only con to this place is lately I’ve had to be be careful about checking my produce purchases. I got a box of tomatoes that was moldy on the underside of the first layer /​the top of the bottom layer, so I didn’t realize it until I got home and opened them. The raspberries I’ve gotten from there have been prone to going bad especially fast. I went to buy a sweet potato and literally all of them were molded, and left sitting on the shelf. All of the Noosa Yogurts were set to expire in a mere two days. Since this has happened about twice in the past year I’ve been coming here, I’m going to chalk it up to a bad shipment. But it’s just something to be aware of.

This Key Food is over-​priced and confusing. If you go in here looking for one or two particular items, you’re basically screwed. You’ll roam up and down each individual aisle searching high and low for your item, and you still won’t find it. I went in on two separate occasions looking for bread crumbs one time and then maraschino cherries on the other, and each time I couldn’t locate them without assistance. I was forced to ask a cashier, who also had no idea where anything was in the store. After more than 20 minutes looking, I gave up and left. You shouldn’t feel like you’re on a scavenger hunt when you’re grocery shopping. Go to the Associated a few blocks down, you’ll be glad you did.
But if you so choose to shop here, they do have a good selection of items. Just make sure you have enough time to find what you need and enough money to pay for it.

The fruits n vegetables r more xpensive here. The store is not too big, which is good because you can do your groceries shopping fast.

Let’s be frank: Grocery shopping isn’t easy or efficient in East Williamsburg. A person would probably be best served shopping for dry/​canned/​frozen goods in an Associated/​Bravo/​C-​Town kinda store, produce at a designated produce store like To the World or Rosemary Farm, prepared foods wherever (I personally think the «gourmet» markets in Williamsburg are best left to tourists, and I would prefer cheap takeout tacos from a neighborhood hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant to whatever Sunac is slinging any day or night of the week), beer at the bodega of your choice.
But sometimes you want to knock your whole grocery list out of the park in one trip, and that’s where Key Food comes in handy.
I really have no complaints about the prices, and I never have. And I am a cheapskate. Take advantage of sales when they come up. Pomegranate juice is overpriced? Well, pomegranate juice is stupid. Beer is overpriced? Well, beer in almost every grocery store I’ve ever been to has been priced higher than at the corner store. When I go to a grocery store, I want ingredients I can cook with. I buy produce that’s on sale or in season. I tend to go for the generic label whenever I can, because it’s often cheaper that way, and Key Foods has a good one, in my book. The selection and pricing of a block of cheese, a loaf of sliced whole wheat bread, or fresh vegetables each trumps any other end-​to-​end grocery stores in the neighborhood. (That said, the broccoli does come packaged in plastic, which I’m not stoked about.) I can always find competitively-​priced tofu and that soy sausage I like. There’s also a good beer selection and prepared foods, to which other people can speak more than I.
The presence of a reliable Key Foods generic label is a pretty significant boon for price, I think. Once I started shopping here, I found I was ultimately paying less than I was paying for staples at some of the other supermarkets in the area, and the Key Food generic was, in many cases, better quality than the lower-​priced items of the same variety at those other markets.
If you get home from work at 5:30 or 6, don’t go here after work if you want to get in and out fast. Maybe go closer to closing time. I’ve always found the place adequately stocked right up until close, for most items.

The absolute WORST!!! The management & staff are beyond rude and the produce is just as bad! Rotten apples all the way through!

Quick news flash for the transplants /​NYC newbies: YOU’RE BEING ROBBED. Well, maybe you already realize that because you don’t have much of a choice. Well, actually you kinda do.
There’s an Associated Supermarket right up the block (literally, a block away) where the prices are so much better. It’s very much still about catering to the old neighborhood. You’re not gonna see too many fashion glasses, thick beards and triple-​cuffed jeans in Associated. But I get it. Associated doesn’t carry all of your favorite organic /​gluten-​free brands!
The Key Food on Grand Street is feverishly trying to keep up with the rapidly-​changing demographic of Williamsburg. You barely have any room to move your cart through the aisles (it’s already narrow as it is) with all of the healthy and organic options they visually force feed you. And you’re going to pay through the nose for it. Especially in the produce section.
Yeah, the prices are better than Sunac. But they still aren’t great. However, it’s convenient. And that’s the bottom line. I can’t even fully vent about this whole situation because I go to Key Food at least once a week (after I do the majority of my shopping at Associated). I do enjoy things like organic milk, cage-​free eggs, whole weat tortillas, kosher flatbread and soyrizo. But to be all the way real, their beer selection is pretty superb. Probably the second best to Khim’s down on Graham Ave. That’s where they win in my book.
From a native New Yorker, make this particular Key Food location your destination only if you’re in a pinch for specialty brands and specific items you know they only carry there. I’ve learned the hard way that you shouldn’t be trying to knock out your entire grocery list (especially staples) unless you have some confidence in your bank account.

I’ve lived all around this great city, and have had the pleasure/​displeasure of frequenting several chains of grocery stores: Westside (yay!), Fairway (yay, but get outta my way!), Morton Williams (you SUCK), C-​Town (am I going to get shot?)…you get the point.
Now that I’m a Wburg resident, my choice is between Sunac and Key Foods. Since Sunac requires that you either pay $ 1K or surrender your first-​born for that kale and box of Mary’s Gone Crackers, I stick with Key Foods. It’s competitively priced, has a decent selection of produce, and I’m in and out in under 20 minutes. The 100% young women cashiers are indifferent but not aggressive or snarky, so we get along just fine.

No matter what mood I’m in when I walk in here, I all of a sudden become super sweaty and aggressive. Sadly, the end times Associated down the block is somehow worse, so I find myself here. The checkout girls will never tell you your total unless you ask, what an interesting business idea.: /

Awesome place to food shop! Fresh «organic» vegetables and meat! Love this place! And they have street and parking lot available for those of you who drive!

I love grocery stores, and this particular one makes me happier than most when I get the chance to shop here. The produce isn’t expansive, but what they have is fresh, and there is a generous organic section if that’s your thing. I love the availability of foodie home chef items such as the olive case, a whole case dedicated to capers, and the enormous selection of breads and pastas. Ready to go foods include whole rotisserie chicken, smoked salmon platters, and cheese & salami party trays. What makes this grocery store superior to most is the decent prices and offerings of dairy and gluten free items. There’s almost always a sale on Greek yogurt, and the chips selection is to die for. The baking section has improved and now accommodates most baking needs.
There is an attached parking lot that makes the whole shopping experience from arrival to exit a breeze if you’re a driver.

Clean! I have been to a all stores near by that are gross dirty and the people are rude. But here the place is always clean! Here people are friendly and knowledgeable. I have been going to this store for about 10 years and it only gets better as the products expand. They always see to have great deals on things, baked goods, frozen stuff, all constantly on sale.
I love it, just avoid crazy hours, the earlier the better.

One of the best options within close proximity to my apt to get groceries. 100 000 0000xs better than the horrid C-​Town on Graham — that’s for sure. Aisles are normal width, and they have pretty much everything I need with decent discounts. I haven’t purchased produce — and probably wouldn’t as I go down a little further to «To the World Farm» but it looks well stocked and fresh. I agree with Roberto about their cereal selection — pretty impressive.
It reminds me of the Key Food I used to shop at with my mother when I was a little one… Places that give me feelings of nostalgia automatically start with 3 stars… another star for selection and the most grocery like feel of any other place I’ve been to in the neighborhood…

Sadly this is the closest grocery store to me that isn’t simply an extended Goya isle or super expensive «gourmet market». The produce is crap, varies week to week, and many things are sporadically in stock. Or maybe the produce is great this week, it’s truly a gamble going to this store. For example, I just wanted a loaf of sourdough bread. Easy enough right? Wrong. They did not have one. Peperocinnis? Last week yes, this week no. Buttermilk? Same.
One area they do have great consistency in is the checkout. This is the rudest collection of young women I have ever dealt with. I think they make it a point to try and break every last potato chip. I have been going here for 3.5 years and this is my experience 95% of the time. I used to go to the Key Foods on McGuinness in Greenpoint and it was a completely different experience. Night and day.