key food stores

One of the oldest supermarket brands in New York City, Key Food originated with a group of independent supermarket owners in Brooklyn who got together in 1937 to form a cooperative. Key Food grew with small supermarkets across the city but, like most New York City cooperatives, shrank in the 1990s and 2000s as real estate prices forced longtime supermarkets out of their locations and changing demographics in some neighborhoods meant that mainstream stores like Key Food were replaced with specialized international stores. But Key Food has more than rebounded, growing from about 100 stores in the early 2010s to over 450 today under various names. Their stores stretch from Miami, FL to Worcester, MA, but the core of their business is New York City. Key Food is the most common supermarket brand in the city, with over 100 stores in all five boroughs.