Village CTown back in business on Rockaway Avenue

In a downtown business district dense with nail spas, barbershops, delis, and restaurants, a supermarket trumpeted its grand reopening on Rockaway Avenue. It’s called CTown, part of the New York-based chain of independently owned supermarkets across the Northeast.

The supermarket, which had garnered a less-than-stellar reputation from shoppers over the years under its previous ownership, has been brought to new life under the supervision of co-owners Alex Santiago and Cesar Marte.

Last Friday, a dozen or so friendly staffers fanned out across the store welcoming and assisting customers in the newly restocked, refurbished, and rebuilt 5,000-square-foot building. 

The look and feel of the supermarket represent a big turnaround from its state just a few months ago, Santiago noted, when past neglect and mismanagement had left the store in derelict condition and starving for repairs.

“Eight months ago, there were no floors. There were just beams. When we first got to the store, there were expired products, many a year long, and there was a smell,” said Santiago. “When we removed the refrigeration from both sides, the floor foundation sunk because previous ownership let condensation seep into the wood and weaken it.”

Now, with brand-new floors, plumbing, and lights, there’s plenty to see.

The moment shoppers set foot in the store, flanking their left side is an eye-level display of fresh, colorful produce. Down that same aisle, to the right, the shelves are stocked with an assortment of internationally imported canned goods and bottled products. It’s what Santiago aptly calls “the international aisle.”

“Goya is our biggest supplier, and they usually have the most when it comes to international products,” said Santiago. “Our international lane has products from Jamaica to Argentina to Mexico and the Dominican Republic.”

To Santiago, the variety of available products at the supermarket is a no-brainer: The more diverse the village gets, the more diverse the needs and preferences of its consumer base become, and the more imperative it is for store shelves to speak to what shoppers are looking for.

“(According to company data), our store serves mostly White and Hispanic customers, and then you also have some Jamaican, Guyanese, and Western Indian with a few Asian,” Santiago said.

The store’s product line is varied, but its appeal is universal, noted Santiago and Marte, who hope shoppers from every segment of the community will walk through the door once word gets out. 

“At first, we were focusing on just Spanish clients, but we realized we have to diversify. We can’t just focus on Spanish clients. We want everyone to come,” Santiago said.

“We have a mixed community, so we created a store where everyone can feel comfortable,” said Marte. “The price of food of course is still very high, but we’ve worked arm-in-arm with the company to secure products at an affordable price point for the people. At the end of the day, we are proud of our prices.”

That’s not all they’re doing to stay ahead of the competition. Santiago says that they’re better – and faster – than their larger, big-box competitors at turning feedback from their customers into tangible results, such as by meeting specific product requests.

“If there’s a particular item someone is looking for, I can have it come in a few days for them,” said Santiago. They’ll also consider adding that item to stock, he said.

Santiago and Marte held a soft launch of the store roughly six weeks before the official debut to get a feel for their clientele and their buying preferences — and to tweak their inventory accordingly.

“We just opened the doors to see who comes: see who’s shopping and who’s not shopping. What items to get, what not to get,” said Santiago. “The biggest thing we’ve heard thus far from our customers is the travel convenience. Instead of driving to Key Food or Food World or King Kullen, they’re within walking distance of our supermarket.”

Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce vice president Lee Feinman hopes that the supermarket will be a net positive for the downtown district’s economy, spurring a steadier stream of foot traffic on Rockaway Avenue to get business buzzing again.

“What we are seeing is an influx of new businesses, like CTown, that will hopefully draw in more people from the community,” said Feinman. “Our objective is to draw the community unto Rockaway Avenue and the surrounding streets as opposed to having them go to the big-box stores.”

C-Town is not alone in changing the face of downtown. What appears to be a vacated storefront just across the street, to the east, is planned to house an onsite emergency food pantry facility run by the Freeport-based regional food bank Long Island Cares.

The facility’s opening is months behind schedule as it slogs through the village’s permit process to green light the building for use.

But Jessica Rosati, the food bank’s program coordinator, said she is hoping to partner up with CTown, as her organization has done with dozens of other retail providers, to donate usable goods to its emergency facility once it opens.

“We want to engage and develop a relationship with CTown Supermarket that will be beneficial for both of our missions in becoming a consistent support for residents in need,” said Rosati in a statement.

But that relationship might be off to a slow start. Santiago, when asked, was unaware of news of the incoming facility.

“I’m just hearing about this now,” he said.

Have an opinion about this story? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.