CTown Supermarkets — Local services in New York

Service going downhill. Bought pre-package cheese from the deli the other night. Just had one slice, it was funky, so I wrapped it up and refrigerated it before returning the next day.

First thing, person at the service desk looked very unhappy and was very rude. Apparently takes the 24 hour perishable food return window very seriously, as it was 30 hours later.

She called over the deli person to consult. He was super nice, I want to give credit to that. He affirmed that this is just how the cheese is. No return accepted, I just had to toss it.

I have been going to this c town and the havemeyer street location for or over a decade. Each year alone, as my primary grocery store, I spent at least a couple thousand dollars. I don't even use Instacart when it's raining because I don't want that to cut out of their margin so I go in person. This is the first time I have ever gone to return anything. I can't believe this is how they treat a long-term customer.

I work in restaurants and no too well how one single bad experience, even for loyal guests, can turn people away. In this neighborhood, grocery stores are popping up on nearly every block. I would think now more than ever would be a time to differentiate by providing superior service when other corporate locations are giving about as Mundane...

As others have pointed out, the cashiers do not bag your groceries, and holler "next" before you've had a chance to bag them yourself. I often don't need a bag, and usually place no more than five items into my shoulder bag. But even if I have only a few very small items, the checkout process has often been extremely unpleasant.The next customer who's been prematurely summoned isn't paying me any mind, nor is the cashier, as I am consequently off to the side, trying to bag with little room to spare, or even standing in the middle of the floor.

However, I have more recently been given more time to put my wallet away, and bag my groceries. When they do patiently wait, I always say "thank you."

For shopping, I have appreciated being able to find items that other stores don't carry. On the whole, they're of a higher quality, with many more choices.

At this store, the normal practice of placing "impulse buying" items in the vicinity of checkout cashiers has been raised to a high art.

Shoppers can also bypass having to purchase items one would normally find behind locked glass doors at the pharmacy. Here, they are placed on shelves just across from the...

I first happened across this Brooklyn-based supermarket franchise in 1996, in Fort Greene, as a freshman @ Pratt Institute. While grocery shopping wasn't high on the list priorities, I can safely say that the supermarket really didn't help there. My recollections include pan handlers, a generous term, hoping to score a couple quarters by helping bag your food. As one might imagine, this merely added to this young man's understanding that he was in the ghetto "Inner City Life" by Goldie was my anthem. Yeah, that'll date it for ya. 22 years later, having just moved back into the "BK" after 7 years in the LES, this CTown in Williamsburg on Graham n Metropolitan is galaxies away from my college food "source". They've their own kitchen preparing a variety of meals from lasagna to grilled chicken salad. And at $6~$8 a pop, they easily outstrip the surrounding restaurants for quality food at a price that can't be beat. Last but not least, who'd think an aging Chinaman's request for a particular brand of green tea was ordered within the week. Stunned, gratified, and most of all, happy to see progress of...