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ALSO COVERING AUBURNDALE, COLLEGE POINT, DOUGLASTON, GLEN OAKS, FLORAL PARK
• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2020
A NEW ERA IN DOUGLASTON
Former Fairway
transforms into
Food Bazaar
Supermarket
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
After acquiring Douglaston’s
Fairway supermarket
last month, Food Bazaar began
transitioning the store
to look more like its locations
throughout the tri-state area.
Bogopa Enterprises,
which owns Food Bazaar,
made a deal with Fairway
on July 15 to purchase the
bankrupt grocer’s locations
in Douglaston and Red Hook,
Brooklyn, after failing to sell
at a bankruptcy auction earlier
this year, according to
Edward Suh, executive vice
president of Bogopa/Food
Bazaar Supermarkets.
“This opportunity came
along for us to grow as a
company, and Fairway is an
iconic brand and we felt that
the Douglaston location made
sense for us as far as the communities
that our existing
stores serve,” Suh said.
On Aug. 13, the former
Fairway, located at 242-02 61st
Ave., officially became part of
the Food Bazaar supermarket
chain, which includes about
As of Aug. 13, the former Fairway, located at 242-02 61st Ave., in Douglaston has officially become
part of the Food Bazaar supermarket chain, which includes about two dozen locations in the tri-state
area. Courtesy of Food Bazaar
two dozen locations in the
tri-state area. Under the sale
agreement, the company was
required to retain Fairway’s
unionized employees, according
to reports.
Food Bazaar was established
in 1988 opening its
first store in Lefrak City at
97-27 57th Ave., according
to Suh, expanding to other
neighborhoods such as Jackson
Heights, Long Island City
and Ridgewood.
Referencing the company’s
mission statement “Feeding
Your Way of Life” Suh said
they’re proud to embrace and
celebrate all cultures, providing
a diverse international selection
of ethnic food items.
Shoppers can expect to
see Fairway signatures, such
as the store’s vast selection
of in-house roasted organic
coffee from countries like
Indonesia, Jamaica, and other
places known to produce
quality coffee beans, according
to Suh.
“That’s an area that we
historically have not ventured
into and thought it
would be a good learning
experience for us,” Suh said.
“The aroma is fantastic and
customers love it. If we have
the space, we’ll be implementing
the coffee roasters at our
other locations,” Suh said.
The company is hoping to
alter their strengths in offering
the best fresh meat,
seafood and produce delivered
from Hunts Point in the
Bronx at an affordable low
price.
While businesses are con-
tinuing to adapt to the new
normal in the age of COVID-
19, Food Bazaar has implemented
strict protocols to ensure
the safety and health of
its employees and shoppers.
All shoppers must wear
a face mask while in the
store and all employees are
equipped with face masks
or face shields, gloves and
hand sanitizers. Stickers are
placed on the floor to promote
social distancing followed by
announcements, and plexiglass
has been installed at
each cash register to prevent
cross contamination.
Additionally, the carts,
baskets, cases, door handles
and other equipment and machinery
are disinfected regularly
by service clerks.
“For our service counters,
which we shut down for a
while, we also put plexiglass
barriers in the open area above
the service counter case,” Suh
said. “We’ve relaxed some of
those measures going back to
some degree of normalcy, but
we are prepared to respond
quickly for the safety and well
being of our employees and
customers.”
For shoppers who prefer
to order their groceries online,
Food Bazaar is live on
Insta-Cart or they can visit
the company’s website, Food-
Bazaar.com.
Read more on QNS.com.
Vol. 86 No. 35 36 total pages
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