Food Emporium

Second time out of the three times I’ve purchased meat from here that the meat has been completely RANCID! No wonder the butcher section constantly smells slightly foul. Don’t believe the expiration dates. Save your money. Done with this place.

now if all food emporium stores would take phone orders and take ebt /​food stamps

I’m talking first hand here as a former employee… believe me guys this is not the food emporium we all grew to love… this place here under new management and ownership wants to keep the name to steal the credibility of the real food emporium but it’s nothing but a high class bodega with over priced produce right from the other side of the bridge… Willis avenue bridge that is… yes people the Bronx (hunts point)…they have a concept that they are always right not the customer… notice all the changes… if you comment on them they will tell you «they have changed» that’s the clean version behind the sense they say people don’t like change but they have to get used to it… that’s how we do business they have to adapt to our way… their way doesn’t work… food emporium. Is gone guys don’t believe the hype and another thing they treat the people who are running their company and driving their sales like criminals and crooks… it’s a jewish owned company being run by ignorant and useless Italians that don’t know d*ck…just pay attention and see for urself… watch the fat Spanish guy by the door that looks like santa he suspects everyone is a thief…

This place while clean and well stocked has the rudest, nastiest and least helpful employees of any grocery store on the planet. And forget trying to place a phone order for delivery. In that case they leave you on perma-​hold, well, permanently.

Very dirty place and extremely pricey.

The store has gone downhill since the bankruptcy of A&P. Operated by Dan“s Market, the store is now downscale and filthy. The only thing that hasn’t changed are the high prices. While some of the staff were retained by the new owner, they have hired cashiers who don’t know how to count out change. We now order from an online grocer weekly and go to Grace’s for everything else.

I miss most the food emporium that was located at 2^nd ave and 86 st.
2^nd ave subway changed that. now i hear FE on 86^th between 1^st and
2^nd is closing. is the one on 3^rd ave and 82^nd closing. shelves are not
all fully stocked? what’s happening? not a lover of Gristide or fresh direct.
HELP…

Its going downhill fast. I’ve been in there 3 times in the last week to get their ‘free-​range’ chickens. The chickens are still on the range since they are not yet in the store. The freezer was also out of Edy’s ice cream which used to be their biggest seller.

I bought some groceries and fresh produce. They have a huge selection of many items. The vegetables and fruits are fresh. I bought some organic produce. The grapes were sweet. and apples were crispy. Then I bought some food in salad and hot bar including soup and mashed potato. The food was OK. However, most of items were pricy. I realized how much I spent when I paid in the counter.

I live a block away, so I find myself at Food Emporium quite often because there are not many alternatives in the area (I grocery shop 3 – 4 times per week). However, I really dislike this store. First, it’s very expensive (even the items on sale). My grocery bill would be much less if I ventured down 10 blocks to Whole Foods or uptown a bit to D’Agostinos. Even the items at Citarella are often less expensive.
What irks me more than the prices though is how often I get home and find mistakes on my receipt. I bring my own bags to the store and usually end up bagging myself, so it’s difficult for me to keep an eye on the screen at the same time. About a week ago, I got home and found three mistakes on my receipt (which I brought back to the store and obtained a $ 12 refund for). And just tonight, I purchased 3 bottles of seltzer water but came home to discover that I was charged for 5.
As someone who recently moved to the UES from Murray Hill, I am seriously missing my neighborhood D’Agostinos and Fairway. My two suggestions for Food Emporium management are 1) reconsider your prices, and 2) introduce some sort of incentive for stores to get prices right. Many grocery stores allow customers to get a full refund (and still keep the item) if the price is incorrect. I am tired of being overcharged and having to walk back to the store.
**I would like to emphasize that all of the individual employees I have interacted with at Food Emporium are extremely kind, helpful and customer-​driven. I think the problems I have seen at the store are a reflection of poor management, not the performance of individual employees.**

Went to the salad /​hot bar to buy prepared food & save tome. Decided on the mashed potatoes. Got them home & discovered they were instant. Disgusting. Dishonest. Horrible. What a rip off. Obviously, I could have made them myself. I thought I was buying real mashed potatoes and saving the hour or so that it would take to make them.
Just gross.

Every time I have an appointment in this area I visit this supermarket to get my soup fix… I love their soups and the cook meal section, their food is good too and the staff super nice and friendly. Everything is organized and clean, I live in the Bronx so of course I am going to find everything pricey but since I can’t get the items I purchase here in the Bronx, I don’t mind since is only a once a month splurge.

I frequent this place from time to time as it’s on the way to the train I take to and from. Their salad bar is the cheapest in the area at 6.99/lb. A good selection and always fresh. Like most grocery stores, they have a deli counter, wings bar, sandwich bar, hot foods counter, etc. They also have a nice sitting area with a coffee bar and bakery counter. Good place for a quick bite (it is NYC). But for those who do have the time, that can work too.

Pros:
Near my apartment
Sometimes have what I’m looking for
Cons:
Overpriced
Produce is nasty
Staff is rude
The E 60s and 70s are in need of a good grocery store and this certainly isn’t it!

I come here when I’m bored on break and looking for food to eat :) On my last visit i picked up some walnuts for my mom and before that, I picked up a bottle of pomegranate juice and some packaged mini toast breads for breakfast. They have fresh deli, produce and cold cuts. But of course being on the UES, things can get pricey for a broke college student :(

What a curious and strange algorithm for getting salad at this store:
1. Go to the deli
2. No one is there
3. Go next door to the sushi counter to ask about the deli
4. They tell you to go to the register to ask about the deli
5. Wait in line at the register
5. Ask about the deli
6. Go back to the deli
7. Hang out a bit
8. Someone comes. Ask for some salad
9. They go look for some takeout containers
10. Get your salad
11. Go to the register
12. Check out

I honestly don’t frequent this location too often, but on the off-​chance I want to pick up a few groceries on my way home from my Upper East Side office and I don’t feel like kicking asses and punching throats to get a few produce items at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods… I’ll dip in here. It has everything you need, but I’ve never been too much of a fan of their prices on the whole. *myeh* (I know… as a New Yorker, I shouldn’t complain about grocery store prices. They suck almost everywhere. Still, best bang for my bunch of basic products regularly seems to be Whole Foods or T.J.‘s…)
On the positive side, I do like their small café on the southeast corner of 3^rd and 69^th; quaint little place full of active adults enjoying their Illy coffee and their crossword puzzles at the plethora of window-​side tables. They have pretty decent croissants, too! Whenever I want to shake up my usual Starbucks /​Le Pain Quotidien /​Joe regimen, I’ll head in here. It’s surprisingly cute and pleasantly calm.

I don’t have a real kitchen in the city – it’s hardly a real kitchenette – so I don’t shop for groceries.
But I must register my irritation with this FE and the one a few blocks away because if you have Western Union, I think it would be nice if you actually had cash.
BOTH FEs were out of cash on a Sunday this summer. My bank card had an issue (local podunk bank in Santa Barbara) and all my friends were away for the weekend so I couldn’t write a check for cash.
They were out of cash for hours, or rather one was out of cash and the other one had a broken machine.
Don’t advertise Western Union if you are unable to provide cash in an emergency!

This is by far my favorite Food Emporium in the area.
Not so much the bottom level because the groceries are overprived and the layout makes everything look disorganized but the main level makes me a big fan.
If you need a low-​key spot to have a coffee or chomp on some lunch, they have a little café area which i love. Its always quiet and never gets too packed. You can always find a nice window seat to read and enjoy your food. The ladies that work here are also usually very kind and friendly whihc can be hard to come by on the UES.
One of my favorite things to get here for a quick lunch is a spicy crab avocado roll from the sushi station. I usually make it a rule to stay far away from pre-​packaged sushi but i dared to try it once when i was desperate and was really surprised at how fresh and delicious it was. Its now my go-​to lunch if i only have a 30 minute break.
I also really like the set-​up on the main level, the bakery is always nicely stocked and who doesnt love their chocolate section? i could get lost looking at all the different chocolate varieties they have on sale. The salad bar always has a nice selction and they actually offer a few a good soup options for lunch at the hot bar.
This Food Emporium doesnt get enough credit, its a 100 times better than half of the others in the city.

Big fan of this place. There’s a location right near my work. I’ve never been to a Food Emporium. It seemed like a suped up/​fancy version of a Trader Joe’s or one of those higher quality markets. The reason why I went here was because a student brought us cookies as a thank you before she graduated, and they were from here. She brought in chocolate chip cookies. And you’re probably thinking, how good could boxed cookie be? Well let me tell you! They were the best boxed cookies I have ever had. They were moist and chewy-​ooey-​gooey. I don’t even know if that’s a word, but now it is.
So I had to go back. They have the store cookies for $ 4. As a surprise I bought my office the oatmeal raisin. And as expected, they were just as good. Very fresh. The place has two levels. The main/​upper one I went on had a HUGE selection of food. From sushi to the deli, they had everything. I even found an International section *cue memories from study abroad* and bought some digestives (if you know what I’m talking about) and some of my favorite cookies from sweden — Anna’s Almond Cookies. I was so happy to see that.
I haven’t ventured into Food Emporium extensively enough but I definitely will soon. Will update after my next visit!