Red, white and blue bunting signalled the grand opening of the new King Kullen in Garden City Park to shoppers who flocked to check out the long-awaited opening of the supermarket early Friday morning.
The congested parking lot presented a sharp contrast to the virtually vacant lot that had typified the shopping center at the intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Nassau Boulevard since Pathmark vacated the location one year ago.
Shoppers seemed to be enjoying the ambience of the spacious 51,000-square-foot store as much as the opening day bargains that had drawn many of them.
The store features a Wild By Nature section of natural foods as well as a sushi bar. Those amenities are part of the reason that King Kullen undertook a major interior renovation of the store and shut down its nearby location – a 36,000-square-foot facility in New Hyde Park, several blocks west of the new store.
“It’s larger than our other location. It’s newer so we can bring some of the newer conveniences,” said Thomas Cullen, King Kullen vice president. “It’s a much better store than we had before and we can bring more for our customers.”
None of the employees in the New Hyde Park store were laid off, according to Cullen, who said they’ll be working in the Garden City Park store or nearby locations. The supermarket chain currently has stores in Mineola and Franklin Square.
Apart from the increased size of the new location, Cullen said the company was influenced by the presence of an array of other retail stores which include an Ace Hardware store, a liquor store, a pizzeria, a hamburger restaurant and an Asian fusion cuisine restaurant, Sushi Ya II.
“It’s more of a draw with the satellite stores,” he said.
The satellite store proprietors have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the supermarket, as their respective businesses had fallen off considerably in the absence of an “anchor” store since Pathmark closed down.
All of the approximately 150 workers in the store are from the local area. Approximately 90 percent of the store employees are members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500. Approximately 10 percent of the employees in the new location are members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 342, which is affiliated with the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America.
“I think it’s great,” said Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello, who was in attendance for the grand opening ribbon-cutting on Friday. “You worry about the other stores going out. It puts new life in the community. It’s more jobs and it’s a Long Island company, so it’s a home run.”
The Bethpage-based supermarket chain had been negotiating a lease since last October, when the Pathmark supermarket had closed its doors, according to H.A. Johnston, King Kullen director of real estate. He said the company perceived the local area as “underserved.”
Cullen said the immediate reaction of the shoppers filing through the aisles was gratifying.
“The response is great. We’ve been at this project a couple of years now,” Cullen said. “We’re very pleased to be in this community.”
King Kullen currently has 47 stores in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and on Staten Island.
