May. 17, 2023 By Ethan Marshall
In honor of its grand opening, the Key Food at 35-09 Francis Lewis Blvd. in Bayside held a community celebration on Friday, May 12, during which several community members came to shop at the new market and partake in the festivities.
Several tents were set up outside Key Food, with some offering free samples while others provided entertainment. There was also a DJ booth set up, a bounce castle for kids and raffles.
Photo by Ethan Marshall
The supermarket had previously operated as a Food Universe. Despite the different name, it was already owned by Key Food at that point. Prior to being purchased by Key Food, a Waldbaum’s supermarket was located there until 2015.
Louis Polanco, one of the store’s managers, said he was happy to see such a large turnout. He also credited the beautiful weather that day for helping to attract more people to the booths outside.
“It’s great that people are coming in to buy things from the store,” Polanco said. “The booths outside have different samples for all the customers. They have juice, ice cream, coffee, beans, Takis and Cheetos. They got a lot of stuff there.”