When looking throughout Strawberry Mansion for convenient food shopping, one would be hard pressed to find the more exclusive, big name stores to shop at. In fact there are no nationally branded grocery stores in the area. Therefore smaller entities must step up and fulfill the needs of the community.
The Kims own Kim’s Market (above), located conveniently off of Ridge Avenue. The store has been part of the community for over a decade and is a staple in the community for local convenience shopping. There are multiple rows of food, a deli and a hot food counter with coffee always brewing. The store is organized and bears some of the best selection in the region from everyday items to fresh fruit. It is open every day except Sunday, between 7 a.m., and 7 p.m.
On West York Street, Tono Rosario and his uncle own South Anaely Market, a corner market and deli. They have been operating the fairly spacious place for three years after leaving the Dominican Republic. Some of their hot food options range from warm breakfast pancakes to fairly priced steak wraps or lunch platters starting as low as $3.50. They are open every day between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. except Sunday, when they are open between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Seven Days Food Market, a small store corner store off of West Cumberland Street, is no more than 20 feet wide and is owned by Yousuf Abdusemed. Inside this little two-row store is a selection of hot food, drinks, snacks, incense and other common items.
At the corner of 30th and West Cumberland streets sits Alejandro Grocery Store, owned by Nunéz Alejandro and operated by a family group. This store sells warm food and also the normal snacks and convenience items found in other stores. The store is located at a somewhat active intersection and has a surveillance camera outside.
At Rodriguez Grocery, the mid-sized store offered some standard conveniences also available at stores off West Cumberland Street. When asking an employee for the hours of operation, the woman on her phone replied, “I cannot tell you because I am not the owner.” The store had a fair selection and moderately priced hot foods.
– Text and images by Robert Kennedy and Evan Little
i love the Kim’s and those before them in their turnkey stores. The Kim’s lookout for us, know our families, post community information and are very cool people, i never feel stereotyped in their fresh and clean store. we grow our own food in Strawberry Mansion and have Save A Lot in our community. i don’t want no big name company that just wants our business in our communities, but would be nice to have https://www.shoprite.com/member_browns/ in our community.