Food Emporium

Being a neighborhood local living within a two block radius, I have seen the transition of this store from being a food Emporium to a Morton Williams. I must say the first month was terrible, but now as of April, I quite like it. they have an amazing selection of global foods. Nelson, the fish guy, is incredible! He has whole yellow tail snapper and pompano, fresh and beautiful. Is it a giant brand-​new Publix or whole foods like we have in South Florida, no, but certain items are fantastic and it’s great to have a knowledgeable fish person in New York outside of Citarella.

This place is now a Morton Williams. I have never reviewed a grocery store but this place is so disgusting I feel compelled to warn people. Today I bought a piece of nine dollar «organic salmon» and got home and it was bad. The boiled shrimp in the deli was also bad. The rotisserie chicken makes me sick every time I eat it. It is not unusual for this store to be out of everyday items (asparagus, almond milk, mortadella, green onions, cheese). The quality of cuts of meat are terrible. The customer service is horrific. Clearly they hire people who cannot work anywhere else. Most are completely rude, incompetent and lazy if now downright hostile or asleep. The managers could care less. This place is actually much worse than it’s predecessor Food Emporium which is saying a lot. I cannot imagine how sophisticated New Yorker’s can tolerate this place. I will never shop here again!

This Food Emporium is now a Morton Williams. It is so much worse than it’s predecessor. The cuts of meat are cheap and thin, and there is no meat counter to have your own cut. Even their store brand chicken is of highly poor quality and they refuse to sell major national brands of chicken.
The final straw and the reason I will never shop here again is the mouse I saw running out in the open across the deli floor. Obviously it wasn’t an isolated incident as both the deli counter worker and the check-​out person were completely unfazed by the sight.

Morton Williams is so much worse than food emporium! Its products are low rent (eg, bakery products scream mass produced with partially hydrogenated fats); however, it is much more expensive than food emporium. That is to say, the bimonthly «deals» are not a bargain at all.
Most of the old food emporium people are gone — they did a fine job, why did morton Williams let them go?
The sale prices are displayed on the shelves. When there is a mistake or ambiguity, the store will not honor the labeled price. I’ve never been to a supermarket that doesn’t honor the labeled price. If the price was a mislabel, stores usually honor the price and then fix the pricing on the shelves for the future. Here, the store manager went to the shelf, removed the mislabeled prices and wouldn’t honor the labeled pricing !

Worse and rudest FE I’ve been. Was with my son and were being nice and let the staff pulling a cart to go first. Gave us attitude and completely rude telling us to go. Cashier completely impolite as if we were bothering her with our 2 items. Completely unacceptable.

Placed an online order to be delivered between 5 – 7. By 8 when it didn’t arrive I called and cancelled my order. At 9:35 the delivery person rings the buzzer with my order. Horrible customer service!

Wow! I’m a bit taken aback by some of the reviews I’ve read about FE.
I’m 7 months new to NY and have been shopping at here at least once a week for the duration.
I love this branch on Lexington! The staff have ALWAYS been helpful, friendly and I find what I’m looking for quite easily.
It’s great for ready made on the go meals but yes the lines are sometimes crazy long. So much so that I now know which time of the day to shop (very early morning or evening after 7pm).
The prices are indeed a bit on the higher end of the spectrum but I also choose NOT TO do any major grocery shopping here. I sometimes get sushi rolls (love to see it being prepared), fruits and the odd forgotten item.
I have no trouble using the escalator to get to the lower level and the area is neat and clean. Maybe the other review I read about it being really nasty and a horrid elevator ride to the lower level is at another branch, I can only speak of my experience.
Overall it is what it is, a quick food stop. My only suggestion is lower your prices so that I can afford more (sushi rolls)
The End.

Okay option if you’re in the area and just need to pop in for a deli/​prepared item upstairs, and have some time to spare in case there’s a line (the upstairs only has two registered crammed in the same space as the exit area, and it’s dreadfully slow if only one of them is open).
Also good if you want to pick up some food, pay, and eat it in their seating area.
For actual grocery shopping, hell no.
Many of the employees all have looks of *fingers crossed they won’t need anything from me*. And you have to walk through the employee area to talk a rather slow, kinda dirty freight elevator to another employee area to get to the main, very cramped grocery section [note: you’re trapped, and have to come back through all that to get out].
You don’t have to do that in an Associated. Paying these kinds of prices should score you the privilege of not having to see the brand of lotion an employee has stored in their locker. And working for a high-​end grocer should score their employees the right to lotion privacy, and to not have their break interrupted by a customer who can’t tell which door leads to the stock room versus the grocery floor.
Kinda surprised that NYers have kept this place in business. But, eh, it has some usefulness, I suppose.

I know it’s kind of weird but I love grocery shopping. Food emporium is one of the worst grocery stores I have ever been to! This location is in serious need of renovation. The store looks and smells outdated. I have not seen one decently priced product in their store. You can go to the nearest target or Walmart and buy the same items for half of the price. Check out lines are always long. Their prices are on par with whole foods if not more expensive and the quality is no where near as good. This is the last place I’ll ever shop for groceries. Only if I’m in desperate need of something I will come here. If you’re cool with paying $ 6 for a box of Oreos this place is for you.

Cramped and dilapidated, but surprisingly has just about all the essentials in this little box.

I would give this place a lower rating, but I really don’t know of what other options you have in the area until you start ordering from FreshDirect or Peapod. The products they have on sale are usually competitive prices, similar to what I used to pay up in Massachusetts. The products they sell at normal price can range from expensive to unthinkable. I strictly try to shop off the weekly flyer and I usually find plenty of good deals, but sometimes you do just need to pick up that one item and you will pay for that convenience. For you regular grocery shopping I still think delivery is tough to beat.

Overpriced and egregiously bad customer service. After not coming here for a while, I came on a whim yesterday and was immediately reminded of why the Whole Foods nearby is doing so well.
The line was moving super slow because the cashier was literally flipping through a manual to find the code for every single grocery item. Then it was my turn, and she punched in the wrong codes for my produce; not a huge price difference. I let it slide, but the total still turns out to be way more than it was supposed to be because I was overcharged for steak. When I politely tell them about the steak, the manager comes over and gives me attitude:
«So, I think the sirloin may be on sale this week…»
«That’s not on sale»
«I think it says it is on the sticker»
«Well you didn’t give her your savings card, so you didn’t get the sale. Not her fault you don’t have a card.»
«Do you have a card you can swipe for me? (most stores do this)»
«No, we can’t let you borrow a card. You need to sign up for your own»
«I’m sort of in a rush…»
Almost 5 minutes later, I sign up for the card and get my refund. They start ringing up the girl behind me, who claims that the avocados were on sale. The manager comes over:
«No, that was last week’s sale.»
«Well, there’s a sign up that says it’s on sale»
I walk out and their debate goes on…
Never ever coming back…

Overpriced, which I wouldn’t mind if the place was nicer, selection was better and the people were friendlier, but this place has none of the above.
There’s always some fruit or veggie I can’t find– like kiwis. I don’t think they’re that exotic.
The lines are always long and if they’re not long cause there’s no one in the store, there’s just one register open, and then the line becomes long.
What is the deal with the staff here? They are the laziest, rudest «customer service» people I’ve met. Example– I bought a pork thinking it was on sale so once the cashier rang it up and I saw it was twice as more than I thought, I asked her about it and said, «I thought this was on sale.» ‘Um. No. I don’t know.’ «OK well there was a sign that said some pork was on sale. Could you help me pick the right one out?» «Um. Yah. I don’t know which one that is.» (as she glares away). «Well ok… I’ll try again myself then» (as I hold up the line cause the cashier doesn’t want to help me and increase the already long line on the 1 register that’s opened).
I go because this place is near my apartment. I try to avoid it though and make a trip to Trader Joe’s in Chelsea when I can.
I did experience a nice cashier today FINALLY! Thanks Maria for putting the customer first in a customer service role with a simple smile and a «Have a good night».

Unstocked but convenient location. They’ve renovated a few times over the years but the fish, meat, chicken area is in an awkward place. Fish area really smells bad. Good deals often on steaks.
Delivery — you better be able to wait a long time …
I asked to have my groceries delivered ($ 5.95) and checked out at 4:55 pm. It’s 6:21 pm and even after calling, still no groceries. The employee on the phone denied it had been over an hour until I referenced my receipt. Then he apologized & said to give it 8 – 10 minutes.
Shocking since FE is supposed to be a little more higher end in Manhattan.
Try a different store — FE on third btwn ⁶⁸⁄₆₉ is better all the way around.

THIS PLACE IS SO EXPENSIVE.
You’re paying for their remodel and the rent. Go anywhere else! The staff are really nice though.

This store is ok. The street level floor is most useful for the person on the go. Quick pickup lunches, soup station, sushi station and a variety of beverages at hand.
THe café serves illy coffee and you can enjoy it at the café.
Negatives: the café area is not maintained and the tables are dity from previous customers. Sometimes there are food remanants on the sides of the tables and I saw ants crawling around.
Management needs to make sure the area is maintained clean.
Lower level is ok as well. I am not a fish shopper but I suggest they maintain lower stock of fresh fish. It always smells fishy downstairs and it can all be fixed by maintaining fresh fish.

Glad to have a market so close to my new home; however, the prices are a little high and the aisles really tiny! Definitely not a place to do large quantity shopping, but sufficient to pick up a few things.

This Food Emporium location must be one of Dante’s nine circles of hell. I’ve been to this location a number of times, but only because it is conveniently located near the 63^rd St F train station. That’s about the only good thing about this store.
The aisles are exactly wide enough to allow two shopping carts at a time, but good luck getting through. No matter who is roaming around, whether it’s the elderly or moms who don’t care to get out of anyone’s way, you’re going to have a very hard time navigating the store with a shopping cart. At no time has any shopping trip (no matter how small) been a quick one, between getting around the store itself and checking out.
The organization of the store is not very shopper-​friendly either. Refrigerated pastas, dry pastas, and sauces are in three different locations. Cold cuts and fresh bread are located in the upstairs area, while everything else is in the shopping dungeon downstairs; poor planning could leave you checking out numerous times (or just abandoning your shopping list). They have a pretty extensive frozen foods selection, at least when compared to the 59^th St FE, but their produce isn’t nearly as fresh, nor are there as many selections.

New York City seems to have a problem as far as its cache of grocery stores is concerned. Every mid-​sized store I’ve visited has been either crowded, dirty, overpriced or all of the above. This includes Gristedes, d’Agostino, Jubilee and Morton Williams (I’ve had good luck at Zeytuna in FiDi). Prices, presentation and selection are better at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, but the crowds are outrageous and stressful. In the end, I tend to just buy my groceries in small amounts as my need for them arises and I buy them from whatever store happens to be closest at the time.
With that having been said, I will explain my 2-​star feelings for this particular Food Emporium. I’ve never been impressed by FE anyway, so I didn’t expect much coming to this location. It’s half a block from my best friend’s building, though, and its convenience is irresistable. I have visited many times and will likely continue to visit it, but my impression remains a solid «unimpressed.»
First of all, the layout is bizarre. You walk in and have to either go straight through a door or left down an escalator (a Purgatory vs Hell allusion is undeniable). If you go straight, you’ll enter the meat & bread area. The Enter door has been broken for as long as I can remember, so everyone, whether coming or going, has to squeeze through the Exit door. Immediately inside the Exit door is the only register for the upper level, and between the line of shoppers, their baskets and the large display of granola bars against the wall on the left, there is very little room for anyone to maneuver into or out of this area. Also, bear in mind, should you decide to check out up here, that this is consistently the slowest checkout lane I’ve ever experienced in my life. It appears to be where all shoppers over age 70 have decided to use and they do love their coupons. Be warned.
Should you instead decide to go left and down the escalator, you will enter the store itself. The ceilings are low as is the lighting. It’s a very depressing and out-​dated atmosphere. The aisles are extremely cramped and the UES super-​Moms who shop here are rarely willing to move their fat, UGG-​wearing asses out of the way when you need to pass. They also like to talk loudly about their precious child’s many allergies as if anyone gives a flying frisbee.
I’ll admit, I never do a «big» shopping here. I’m usually only picking up an item or two to make dinner with friends, so I can’t comment on their produce or meats or overall selection with any real sense of authority. Generally, though, they’ve always had what I needed if I’m willing to search for it.
As for employees, it’s very hit-​or-​miss. Other reviewers have had scathing opinions of the cashiers here and, while I’ve had my fair share of bad experiences, I can’t say I’ve been offended by every single one of them. I didn’t appreciate the time I had to squeeze past 3 male employees playing footsie (paraphrasing) in the already-​crowded produce area as I was trying to get to the long and winding lines for the registers (which none of them seemed interested in helping to alleviate).
As for the registers, it is always very difficult to tell which ones are open and there have never been more than 2 or 3 open at any given time, regardless of the line’s length or the time of day. Last time I came here, they offered to let me check out upstairs as an alternative to the long downstairs lines. Like a sheep, I went upstairs (with my one item, mind you) only to find a line of 6 people waiting with overflowing baskets (and stacks of the aforementioned coupons) clutched in their hands. It took a full 10 – 15 minutes to purchase my damn jug of orange juice. Luckily, it was destined for mimosas, so within an hour I no longer cared about my subpar shopping experience.
Anyway, I ramble. I give this FE stars because I feel it embodies the very essence of «Meh, I’ve experienced better.»

It’s physically impossible for this store to be any worse. First, things here are so unbelievably overpriced that you need a full paycheck to buy basic groceries. The mark ups, especially on veggies which you can buy for a quarter of the price at the stand just up the street, are incredible. Avoid produce completely.
Second, the people who work at this Food Emporium give you the distinct feeling that they don’t want to be there and that allowing you to check out is a real sacrifice. Good luck finding an open lane to check out. Usually, there are no more than two lanes open, with other employees milling about but certainly not opening up a new lane. Checking out is nearly impossible, so tag on an extra fifteen minutes to stand in line when you go. I say standing ‘in line’ somewhat tongue in cheek, since the usual pattern is for lots of people to cluster near the registers as they try to figure out which is open and which just appears to be open. It’s a fun game.
Third, something about the store makes everyone who shops there crabby. Expect other shoppers to elbow you. Expect someone to be standing exactly where you want to look on the shelves and unwilling to move. Expect someone to show exasperation over your audacity to bring one of the baskets down an aisle. In short, anticipate a crappy shopping experience. It will just make things easier.
This grocery is literally around the corner from where we live, and we avoid it if at all possible. The prices are better at CVS, as is the service.
Avoid this place if you can. It’s only a short train ride to Trader Joe’s.