Now, he says, New York\u2019s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, will make it even harder for him and other grocery store and bodega owners to succeed because of his plan to open five city-owned grocers. The mayor announced additional details about the stores this week, which he said will offer produce, meat and seafood for 30% less than typical retail prices.<\/p>\n Existing businesses will not be able to compete, Collado and some others say. But there is also support for Mamdani\u2019s venture, saying that the stores will bring much-need food options into areas of New York<\/a> city sorely lacking in grocery shops and help with a crisis in soaring food prices that hits some of the city\u2019s most vulnerable families the hardest.<\/p>\n Food costs in the United States have soared in recent years. In June, the average price of ground chuck beef was almost $7 a pound, an 83% increase over June 2016, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>. In the New York-New Jersey area, the consumer price index for food increased 33% from 2015 to 2024, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis<\/a>.<\/p>\n double quotation markNo New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their familyZohran Mamdani<\/p>\n Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has allocated $70m in the city budget to open the five grocery stores, one in each of the city\u2019s boroughs. The mayor has announced the locations of two of the grocers: La Marqueta in East Harlem and La Peninsula in the Bronx\u2019s Hunts Point neighborhood. The latter location will open by the end of 2027, he said. The city has not announced where the other stores will open.<\/p>\n Private operators would manage the ventures, and the city has issued a request for proposals, Mamdani said at a press conference on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family,\u201d Mamdani said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Supporters and opponents of the city grocery plan seem to agree with the mayor that food has become unaffordable for many people and that trying to solve the issue is a worthy cause. But they differ on whether the new grocery stores will help the average New Yorker.<\/p>\n Maria Torres, president, co-founder and chief operating officer of The Point, a community development organization in Hunts Point, said the predominantly Hispanic<\/a> neighborhood was \u201cbasically a food desert\u201d, so La Peninsula would not really threaten existing grocers.<\/p>\n As to bodegas, the city grocery will not offer cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets or hot foods, which means there will also not be much head-to-head competition, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited about it. I think it could be another way for folks to try to cut down on expenses,\u201d Torres said. \u201cWe have too many folks that are unable to provide all the meals that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s going to really devastate the economic growth of the small minority ethnic businessFrank Garcia<\/p>\n Others disagree.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to really devastate the economic growth of the small minority ethnic business,\u201d said Frank Garcia, the chairman of the National Association of Latino State Chambers, who is leading an effort opposing the grocery stores.<\/p>\n US governments have tried to open grocery stores in other parts of the United States with limited success. The small town of Baldwin, Florida, invested $150,000 in 2019 to open a market, with employees on the city payroll, to make it easier for residents to buy groceries in an area that was largely a food desert. While many people initially touted it as a success<\/a>, the town closed the store in 2024 because it could not break even, the Florida Times Union<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n In Kansas City, the local government invested almost $18m in a grocery store and shopping center that closed in 2025 because of crime increases inside and outside the store and slow sales, the local NPR affiliate reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the city government in Atlanta opened a grocery in a former Walgreens last year, and it has received positive reviews. Fast Company<\/a> described it as \u201can oasis in its downtown food desert\u201d.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard for any food retailer to succeed because \u201cit\u2019s a very low-margin business\u201d, said Stephen Zagor, an adjunct associate professor at Columbia Business School who focuses on food businesses.<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s request for businesses to apply to operate the stores could help because it would give the city \u201cthe ability to get really good large-scale pricing from their suppliers\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that gain could easily be offset by the cost of having them operate it,\u201d Zagor said.<\/p>\n The city will also have to contend with labor costs. Mamdani has appeared with organized labor leaders when announcing the grocers and said workers would enjoy \u201cunion-level standards<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are going to be jobs where people can quote unquote make a living, which is nice to have, but in the reality of the business that he is supporting, it\u2019s a big challenge,\u201d Zagor said.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every day<\/p>\n Sign up to Headlines US<\/p>\n Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The stores could also be hindered by not offering hot foods. Profit margins<\/a> tend to be higher for prepared foods, which have become a greater source<\/a> of revenue for grocers in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are putting themselves in a box that is going to be very hard to break out of,\u201d Zagor said.<\/p>\n double quotation markSmall business owners are struggling to keep up in New YorkAndrew Rein<\/p>\n But if the city grocer sells prepared foods, that would mean more competition for private store owners, who are already upset about the mayor\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n Gustavo Gordillo, a chair of New York City\u2019s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, didn\u2019t help matters when he recently said on Fox News<\/a>, \u201cIf one publicly owned grocery store that brings prices down in the neighborhood is enough to put someone out of business, then maybe they shouldn\u2019t have been in that business in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a non-profit watchdog group, said the city must consider that \u201csmall business owners are struggling to keep up in New York as well\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/500.jpg\")
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