FOOD BAZAAR — Local services in New York

What started out as a mixed bag for me has only gotten worse. So Fairway was the best. But then they went bankrupt. Then we were worried we wouldn't have a supermarket in our neighborhood, which would make life a lot more difficult since there is no direct subway to Red Hook. So when we heard about Food Bazaar coming in, we were very happy and felt a tremendous amount of gratitude that our little village would still have a formidable supermarket within walking distance. And it started out pretty well. Though the constant construction was annoying in the beginning, it was understandable. After all, they wanted to make their mark and that's fair besides, the promise of a better organized market was good enough for me while I waded through the produce to sounds of drilling and hammering. But then they stopped carrying products we had grown used to getting from that location. Still, it was understandable. Food Bazaar is a different brand and will carry different products. Okay. acceptance felt good. But then it just kept getting worse. They decided to form one line in the middle aisle of the store, which not only jams up that aisle, but takes forever (we waited almost 1/2 hour to see a cashier yesterday). Then they installed the self checkout, but they only let you self checkout a maximum of 15 items. After about 20 minutes of waiting and seeing literally no one at the self checkout, we strutted our stuff over there only to be yelled at by an employee for even trying such a thing. "15 items," she yelled. "You can only have 15 items to uses self checkout!" We, more calmly, asked if they could make an exception since no one was using the self checkout and we had already waited 20 minutes in the dysfunctional line. Then she yelled some more. Needless to say, we didn't get to self checkout. Rather, we were forced to wait even longer until we finally were called to a cashier (one of 2 working that afternoon). Our experience with the cashier was the same as it has been since they opened; cold and indifferent. When it was Fairway, the employees were friendly and warm. So what's changed? The ownership and the management. Being someone who has managed large teams of people for many years, I can always tell when the corporate culture is hurting the on-the-floor folks. And it is big time. An employee doesn't yell at a customer when she feels she's being treated well. She yells when she's afraid to get fired, which now I know for a fact because several employees confided in me that the new management has their employees scared for their jobs. So that sucks. It has been so bad that we have continually sworn to never go back there again, but we do because it's close. But now they aren't even keeping up on the stock the products they usually have in full supply. In the depths of covid, I get it, but we're not there anymore. I just think they don't care. It reeks of a place just trying to get in as much money as they can as fast as they can. So this time we once again swore we;'d never go back there. We're hoping to stick to it and have even planned our forthcoming Wegman's grocery runs at a time of the day each week that seems manageable. But we have lived in the area 5 yers and I've never seen a worse business.

Just adding this…they’re so cheap and tacky, the owners that is. It’s just a big suck a buck and I...

It's really sad and depressing to see what happened to this place. Unfortunately this once crown jewel location of Fairway is no more.

Initially after Fairway left, food bazaar simply took it over and kept the place nearly exactly the same which was awesome.

However, I stopped in there recently and after observing that there was barely a customer there, it became painfully obvious as to why.

For starters, the (formerly glorious) food court had only minimal food options and none of them looked edible, in fact they had the appearance of food served in hospital commissary or school cafeteria. Not even close to the quality and variety of what was previously offered.

It's shameful that management has the audacity to serve lukewarm soup, dried out mac & cheese and a few other pathetic sorry looking dishes. Additionally the back patio on the water facing the harbor is now unkempt and derelict which is a real shame. The current management obviously does not realize that this was the reason so many people came here to shop including myself.

The once incredible pizza has been replaced with what can only be described as mall quality pizza and the sushi counter is nearly as pathetic. While the former staff took pride in what they did, the current staff seems indifferent and appear to be there just there to collect a paycheck. The expression "all good things come to an end" has never been more prevalent.

The store appears to be currently being renovated and converted into a bargain basement supermarket which may have some appeal to local residents seeking low cost options.

If you were a patron of the former Fairway that used to occupy this location, this place will definitely not be for you. Best to check out Wegman's or the nearest Whole Foods market. All the charm and appeal that this place once had is slowly being stripped away by new management who likely think they know better.

However on a positive note, the place was clean plus the overall pricing seemed affordable and generally this may be a somewhat viable option for the local population as there are no other decent supermarkets nearby.

All in all this is not the destination it once was and I question whether their new strictly budget conscious business model is sustainable. I really do not not see this place lasting more than a year or so but hope to be proven wrong.

While we mourn the demise of Fairway, we ought to wish the best for this "food bazaar" before they too fade...

This store has violated me as a customer for the last time. Today was disgusting I came in happy and I grabbed a cart because I had outside bags with me. I filled up my basket with about 16/17 items and my sister who was paying separately had a few items all together our items fit into a red basket. When I got to the self checkout the manager an Asian man ran up extremely aggressively and almost grabbed and pushed me out of the way saying I couldn’t use the self checkout. As I tried to explain to him that we actually didn’t have that many items and we were paying separately at two different registers he was aggressive talked over me and then called security. I shop here at least two to three times a week and I usually use self checkout and go on my way when the security guard came he said “oh I know her she doesn’t give any issues she shops here a lot” but the manager CHARLIE would not listen to him I then turned and said you know what Im not spending my money in a place that treats their customers like this. I asked for the managers name he ignored me I asked the security guard and then two other employees who all acted as if they were scared of this man. I then asked him a FOURTH time he finally responded “why you wanna know my name what is your name?” So I said this is ridiculous not only was your whole approach unprofessional but you have the nerve to not even provide your name and you are required to. I’m disgusted with the way I was treated and it’s only by the Asian upper management sad to say, they treat black people so nasty & are always aggressive. I will not be returning to this store and I really think someone should address this. I and every other black person should feel comfortable...