22 SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Billy’s Marketplace blends nostalgia with new features
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
A family owned and operated
supermarket is bringing its
guests back in time with a
tribute to Ridgewood‘s history while
creating a new and interesting take on
what a supermarket can be.
Billy’s Marketplace, located at 870
Cypress Ave., opened back in August
with one goal in mind: to provide
customers with a unique shopping experience
while catering to the diverse
set of customers that walk through the
doors.
Kelvin Rodriguez, general manager
of the supermarket and Community
Board 5 (CB 5) member, and his family
have lived in Ridgewood since
the 1970s and wanted to bring their
neighborhood’s history into their
new store as a way to pay homage to
Ridgewood’s past.
This history of Ridgewood is on full
display at Billy’s Supermarket, with
historic photos of the neighborhood
hanging all across the store. They also
embedded pieces of the community
right into the aisles, as the Rodriguez
family decided to forego the traditional
numbered aisle system. Instead,
they have given the aisles names of
Ridgewood streets such as Madison
Street, Cypress Avenue and Woodbine
Street.
“We wanted to not forget about
where you came from, that was the
idea here,” Rodriguez said. “We know
that this area might be doing some
type of fl uctuations, there are a lot of
people coming into this area now, but
we weren’t going to forget out roots.
That’s why you see the street names.”
Before the location became Billy’s
Marketplace it was the dance hall
Fleur De Lis Caterers. To keep that
sense of history, the Rodriguez family
kept that name for their deli area.
The nostalgia doesn’t end there. As
soon as you enter Billy’s Marketplace,
there is a sense of nostalgia for the way
things used to be. Currently, parked
right at the entrance, is a 1950 Chevy
3100 that looks like it came straight
from the farm. It is surrounded by
hay bales and pumpkins, celebrating
the fall season.
While the Rodriguez family wants
to keep the memory of old Ridgewood
alive, they know that they have to keep
up with the changing times and be a
unique destination for their shoppers.
Probably the most unique feature
of Billy’s Marketplace is the Bierria, a
16-tap sit-down bar situated right in
the supermarket.
“We have 16 beers on tap,” Rodriguez
said. “Unfortunately, we are waiting
on the license, but that should be coming
in within two weeks. That’s our
goal: to have this open in two weeks.”
The Bierria will feature beers from
local breweries with all of the beer
coming from microbreweries.
Another diff erent aspect of Billy’s
Supermarket is the self-serve hot
food buff et where people can come in
and make their own breakfasts and
lunches.
“The only thing that we had to do
here to be diff erent is off er the things
that everyone else doesn’t have,” Rodriguez
explained. “Because why have
another, same exact store doing the
same exact thing? So we had to cater
to a wider range of people.”
In order to serve the changing
demographics in Ridgewood, Billy’s
Marketplace off ers a wide variety of
conventional and organic foods, and
it even has a vegan section.
Billy’s Marketplace will be hosting
a grand opening celebration in the
coming weeks to offi cially welcome
the neighborhood to the store. To see
all the old photos from Ridgewood, and
taste everything Billy’s Marketplace
has to off er, the store is open seven
days a week from 7 a.m. to midnight
at 870 Cypress Ave.
Photos by Anthony Giudice/QNS
Billy's Marketplace is giving customers a sense of nostalgia while providing
Glendale Kiwanis
donates to local
church renovations
President Elect Kerrie Hansen
of the Kiwanis Club of Glendale
presented a check to
Photo courtesy of Kiwanis Club of Glendale
Father Fred, pastor of Sacred Heart
Church, for $500 to help with the
renovations at the church.
a unique shopping experience.
