Food Emporium

It’s fine, in a pinch, but makes me wonder if the person in charge of pricing items thinks we’re in some post-​apocalyptic, scarcity situation. The prices are exorbitant across the board.

I am here to shop. Why do I have to constantly hear about how much every employee hates his/​her job? These complaints are heard loudly and clearly every time I shop there… From the vicious security guards to the put-​upon manager… this place is staffed with the most miserable people.

Terrible.
On multiple occasions when checking out, items that were advertised as «on sale» (and yes I read the signs very carefully) didn’t ring up at the proper price and they have to have an employee run to double check the sale sign posted, and every time this has happened the employee takes close to 10 minutes to come back!!! Both times I have canceled the transactions and left because it takes too long and is just ridiculous!
Don’t post a bright sale sign by certain foods advertising a «certain oz at a certain price during certain dates» if you’re not going to offer that price on the said oz during the specified dates to the customer at check out!!! I have never experienced this type of situation at a grocery store before, as their systems seem to recognize sales & promotions currently offered. Apparently, Food Emporium’s system does not do this.

This place was horrible before it was bought by Key Food, now it is even worse. The prices are astronomical and the quality is terrible. There are no more sales and the organic selection is almost twice as expensive as Whole Foods. It is $ 7.50 for a dozen organic eggs and $ 10.69 for a gallon of milk. The only reason they’re still in business is because there are no other options in the area.

Got food poisoning from food that I purchased here yesterday. It was either the Perdue rotisserie-​flavored grilled chicken strips or the Ore-​Ida microwavable crispy crowns (hash brown potatoes)— and as I write this review, my bag of freeze-​dried raspberries expired on October 5, 2015!

It’s an ok place for some simple grocery shopping as it indeed has everything essential, from food to daily appliances. However given the price tag, the quality was not as satisfactory as I would expect — probably due to the fact that there’s no decent supermarket around this neighborhood. I probably will prefer either drop by a further whole foods to enjoy a higher quality, or just the nearby deli for some cheap stuff.
It’s probably not as horrible as other Unilocalers had mentioned, certainly it is not outstanding.

I have been going to this market for 5 years. I found mold in my blueberry pie which I was giving as a gift to a client… she was pregnant and we were both discussed. Also the meat is not fresh and I also purchased fish that smelled like bleach. I am extremely disappointed because this market is literately across from my apartment but I will not recommend Food Emporim to no one. Any suggestions to another supermarket near 43^rd and 10?

Meh. Food is at the price point of Whole Foods but at the quality of a Market Basket. If this market wasn’t so close to my apartment and I wasn’t tight on time, I would definitely make a longer trek to any other grocery store in the area. The produce, meat, etc. selection here is pretty plentiful, but again, overpriced for what it is.
The service here could be a lot better. When checking out. the lady at the cash register did not recognize my daikon radish, and even after I told her what it was, she still had trouble locating the price for it on her machine.

Filthy
Disgusting
Flies on the «Fresh baked goods» in their bakery DEPT
… Needs to be shut down
ASAP

If it weren’t for Manhattan Plaza, this joint would ‘ve closed years ago. Heard rumor today that it s closing, due to chapter 11 filed in July. Good riddance. Ridiculously high prices, stale food, shitty mgmt and sour employees.

I live literally down the street so it is extremely convenient and I go here because they seem to be the only place that sells Panera soups. I have a strange obsession with Broccoli Cheddar and probably need to get help. If it wasn’t for that one reason, I don’t think I’d ever go here. Most of the time, staff barely acknowledges you.
They have a good selection of foods but everything is overpriced. I buy all of my produce an avenue over at Big Apple Meat Market or Terra Market for, at least, half the price and I think their produce is better. Still, sometimes there are things you can only find at Food Emporium.
The biggest problem, to me, isn’t that the prices are a little high, but the staff. Whenever I do the bottle return, no one who works there is ever available and I have to ask the courtesy desk to call them, at least, twice. Yesterday, the man who does the bottle return had a customer do his job while he watched. If you are being paid to pull out the buckets and pull the bag of bottles out, YOU should do it. Not only is that your job but you don’t even come when you are called. That was strike one.
Tonight, I stopped by at closing to pick up some of the aforementioned soup and some flavored water. I also grabbed some crackers from the deli section. I know they are meant to go with the soups from the deli, but the Panera soups are in the deli section, so, tomato tomahto, right? Not according to the attendant at self check out. I use self check out because the cashiers tend to have attitudes. Well, I put my crackers in and the system freaked out that I need to scan them. She yelled at me that I shouldn’t have taken them and that only a manager can fix this. I’ve never had a problem and, especially with how frequently I buy soup, you can imagine I also grab a lot of crackers.
Normally, the attendant just presses a button to make the system go back to normal, but this lady wanted to fight. I looked over at her screen to see if it was really that big of a deal and she yelled at me not to touch anything. I wasn’t going to but I’m sure I could’ve figured out how to fix it. She had to get the manager over just to press a button. And she treated me like a child, and was so horrible to me. That’s strike two. How dare you! I’m a patron of the store and it wasn’t like I really did anything wrong. The crackers are for customers who get soup, I got soup. Whoever this woman is deserved to be taught some manners!
Ugh. Maybe a cashier would’ve been a better option.

This is our local grocery store. I shop there a few days per week and even though it’s not as gourmet as Sunac, I get what I need. Prices are what they are for the area. Sunac charges a lot more for basic items, like milk. The staff at FE are pleasant. Maybe they aren’t jumping for joy, but customers could be a bit nicer as well.

Coming from LA this store’s comparable to Vons. They have all the basics plus there are sushi and hot food counters. They also have a coffee grinder so you can grind whole beans for a fresh brew. The service personnel are nice and helpful. And the lines aren’t crazy like they are at whole foods and trader joes.

Very pricey. They don’t restock often enough but the cashiers are well trained and chipper even at almost closing. I’ll only visit this market again in an emergency situation. One cute bonus is the «build your own bouquet» option buuuut it’s not enough to make me a regular.

On the surface, it is not the worst looking grocery store, it appears to have been modernized fairly recently. But a nice décor is meaningless if you employ people who don’t care about the customers in the least.
I stood in line with a few purchases for several minutes while I waited for my cashier to finish her personal conversation with a friend of hers that came to pay a visit. I then went over to the Customer Service desk to buy a new MetroCard and was ignored completely for about 5 minutes while the employees sat at desks no more than a few feet away from me, evidently doing something far more important than helping me.

How this place stays in business with these ridiculous prices is truly a great mystery.
Yes this is Manhattan but prices here, on everything (not just produce) are absurd.
When you have so many other grocery delivery options: Peapod, FreshDirect, Instacart (with access to whole foods, fairway market and costco). Not to mention all the other grocers nearby with at reasonable prices.
Why would anyone still choose to use this place as their primary grocery baffles me.

I wish this supermarket were closed soon, and would be replaced by TREADER JOE’S
Everything is so ridiculously overpriced, and the products are not the best!
Please, shut it down soon!!!

This place is great if you need milk or eggs. Or yogurt, or other packaged things. The turnover is pretty fast for most types of things, so nothing gets outdated.
Its been renovated recently, which is great to see. There are two ways to get in, one on 42^nd, the other on 43^rd. This is a busy area, and the store is busy as a result. They do cater to the locals with gluten free area, Passover foods etc.
Its not great for fruits or vegetables. Pick them up elsewhere. But as a neighborhood place for the basics, this is fine. Employees pleasant. No real parking. They do deliver if needed.

This location of the Food Emporium has two entrances: One on 42^nd street and one on 43^rd street. It’s near several high rises and brownstones, so it stays pretty busy overall. That’s probably why the parent company, A&P, put some money into this location and renovated it the last few months of 2013.
They have a good selection of foods and such, even a gluten-​free section, and a section dedicated to Passover and another to Easter, which is great for the community. As part of the renovation, they added self-​checkouts (FINALLY!) which can sometimes speed up the checkout a bit — or not if you have a few slow someones ahead of you. The cashiers are sweet and kind, and so are the management and stockers.
However, the people behind the meat counter and ready-​to-​eat counter seem annoyed, bothered, and really would rather be doing anything else but help you. I’ve only had a few interactions with them, but it was enough to take down one-​star rating. It can also be a bit pricier, when compared to other local stores like the Big Apple Meat Market down the block, Trader Joes, and sometimes even Whole Foods — but the convenience of the location (it’s across the street from me) is too great of a reason to trek several blocks with bags of groceries on the return trip back.

Well, it is coming a long way from what it was before the recent renovations. For some reason I continue to find that their food is overpriced, and possibly not the best quality. The fresh vegetables are usually a bit mushy, the limes are sometimes 2 for $ 3. Maybe I was spoiled with the supermarkets in Puerto Rico where limes are $.25.
For some reason, I also usually come here looking for something special, but cann’t seem to get inspired to buy much. I tend to think things must be overpriced when they sometimes have up to 50% off of the original price they sell things for. Now that said, I will continue to shop here because it is very close, and because it is convenient. They are really trying to make the place look better.