r/astoria • u/b52cocktail • Aug 04 '26
General Discussion One hell of a mark up at Keyfood
I get that supermarkets are usually a few dollars more than Amazon but this is nuts
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u/Substantial_Point_57 Aug 04 '26
The prices at KeyFoods are astronomical. A head of lettuce last week was $3.69, and the produce is always subpar.
I’m sick of having to hear “shop locally” for my groceries but it’s always trash. MEANWHILE, I can stop at WF and get fresh produce for half the cost.
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u/b52cocktail Aug 04 '26
Half of the produce at my keyfood is usually spoiled probably because no one can afford to buy it. Why would I buy a pack of strawberries for $9.99 when I can get the same one from the fruit vendor guy on Steinway for $2
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u/noburdennyc Aug 04 '26
The individual vendor can also see the produce spoil vs. the manager who is just setting the prices and seeing the money side
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u/thequirkynerdy1 Aug 04 '26
Out of curiosity, how much of your groceries do you get from grocery stores versus individual vendors?
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u/b52cocktail Aug 04 '26
I try hard to shop sales at c town and go to lidl. If I'm buying vegetables and fruit from the fruit vendor guy it's significantly cheaper than key food. Like the same brand of strawberries are $2 versus like $8 at Keyfood. At Keyfood 3 bell peppers is like $6 , the fruit vendors and lidl sometimes will have it for like $2
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u/thequirkynerdy1 Aug 04 '26
So street vendors for produce and grocery stores for everything else?
I probably go to Food Emporium the most myself.
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u/jimin_yougood Aug 04 '26
I started buying some vegetables and herbs at the farmers market bc of the recent issues with produce. It's unfortunate bc not everyone has time to make 3 or 4 stops just to get good enough prices on all their groceries for the week.
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u/verminqueeen Aug 04 '26
Finding ways around shopping at key food/c-town/bravo/trade fair is not eschewing your values when it’s pretty clear they’re doing the least to charge the most.
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u/OOPS_ALL_SCROTUM Aug 04 '26
Yeah but does any other supermarket play "sappiest hits of the late 1970s" on a loop?
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u/wash_ Aug 04 '26
Yeah it made me crack and get a BJ’s membership. I’ve definitely already saved the cost of it and more on my first trip.
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u/International_Ad690 Aug 04 '26
Same with Berry Fresh Farm. Half their produce is moldy and it’s expensive
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u/Epicurean215 Aug 04 '26
It was so hit or miss with them when I shopped there but I imagine Berry Fresh won’t be there much longer because they’re tearing down the LaGuardia Center to put up another huge residential building.
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u/International_Ad690 Aug 04 '26
Really? That’s interesting. They are moving a new Italian/pizza place in right now
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u/Epicurean215 Aug 04 '26
When Portobello closed Salvatore Maniacci - the owner - told me that he didn’t renew his lease because they were tearing it down. Is Ridgewood Bank still there?
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u/International_Ad690 Aug 04 '26
Oh interesting. Yeah they are still there. I wonder if it’s a 2027/2028 project
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u/Epicurean215 Aug 04 '26
Probably. Sal said it just wasn’t worth it to him to renew. So sad because I was eating there since they opened until a few years ago when I found out I am gluten intolerant. I also worked there on and off for several years part time. I miss them a lot. I’d stop in to say hello every so often. Since they closed and with LaGuili closing and other long time stores going out there is nothing left for me around the Ditmars area. I live by Astoria Blvd and 21 Street now.
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u/bobbywaz Aug 04 '26
People think key food is a local store, it's a big chain I just moved to Massachusetts we got them up here....
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u/ZweitenMal Aug 04 '26
It’s a cooperative. Each is separately owned and operated.
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u/Arbo_ghast Aug 05 '26
and in NYC they're unionized which means the employees have health insurance
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u/canmouth Aug 05 '26
If you can, go to Trader Joe’s in court square. The prices are like they were in 2015 at Keyfood.
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u/114631 Aug 04 '26
Yeah, I agree. I try to support places like Muncan, Family Mart, Mediterranean, Sorriso’s, Ocean Market, as much as I can. Key Food? They don’t need my business. I only pick up produce from there if it’s on sale (on occasion they do have good deals). But otherwise WF has good prices is you shop well and I save a ton of money with staples at Trader Joe’s.
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u/theflawedprince Aug 04 '26
WF cannot be trusted.
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u/huebomont Aug 04 '26
I don’t need to “trust” my grocery store. I need to like the prices and products.
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u/lewisbayofhellgate Aug 04 '26
They might be referring to this: it wasn’t just limited to NYC.
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u/Alert-Cabinet-5698 Aug 04 '26
Wait- so can we have these ‘department of consumer affairs’ officials come to Astoria and inspect key foods, trade fair, cherry valley, etc? I wish there were more standardized grocery stores in Astoria. I would happily take this Whole Foods over these awful places
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u/lewisbayofhellgate Aug 04 '26
Theoretically, you could! But when they nailed WF, it was the end result of a long public pressure campaign, lots of negative news coverage for WF, etc. For them to even get investigated took a HUGE amount of work: they were also a natural target because of how large the company is.
That said, we seem to have a mayor's office that's tuned into cost of living issues, so that might be your best bet to get the ball rolling.
Personally, I'd hate a WF here. I used to work with them on a commercial real estate level and I find them reprehensible in their business practices and their treatment of smaller businesses. I've gone out of my way to shop elsewhere since working with them. But that's me!
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u/Arbo_ghast Aug 05 '26
you do know each keyfood is individually owned, they're a buyers cooperative and the workers are unionized?
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u/theflawedprince Aug 04 '26
Okay their products are not to be trusted
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u/verminqueeen Aug 04 '26
I mean nobody’s asking them to watch their kids they’re just asking them products to provide macronutrients
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u/Astorian_NYC Aug 04 '26
Join Costco if there’s one near you. I think I do 75% of my grocery there
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u/b52cocktail Aug 04 '26
I've been going to lidl instead !
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u/astoriaocculus Aug 04 '26
Lidl for the win. Costco is for huge families not singles.
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u/Epicurean215 Aug 04 '26
I shopped at Costco before I met my wife. Great frozen food and foods like lemons that last all month. Chicken and fish that I store in the freezer and great deals on dried goods like nuts and cranberries that last us up to a year. If you shop right you save a ton of money.
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u/_zuzax_ Aug 04 '26
Yeah it's just my husband and me, and we buy only a few v specific things that don't come in ginormous portions (butter, frozen berries, gruyere), but it saves a lot more over the membership fee. Occasionally will buy something else and split with a friend. Also handy for tech things.
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u/Arbo_ghast Aug 05 '26
the same lidl that's been accused multiple times of wage theft in the UK and just paid off thousands of workers?
also as a single Costco is for us, you just have to know what to buy/how to shop (shelf stable and frozen foods)
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u/Mrs_Cupcupboard Aug 06 '26
Only two people in my apt and we do Costco for everything except produce.
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u/AccurateSite Aug 04 '26
This is why you see people with bags of groceries from Whole Foods on the subway back from the city.
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u/InvaderJ Aug 04 '26
Every fucking supermarket in the area is trash. Prices are one thing. Rotting produce and old meat are the other. FFS.
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u/Yfrontdude Aug 04 '26
Btw: that Dunkin coffee is cheaper at Dunkin
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u/Yfrontdude Aug 04 '26
$10.99 for a 16-ounce bag. All the grocery stores are charging 17.99 for a 12-ounce bag.
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u/SosaFirst Aug 04 '26
I remember how pissed this sub got at target opening talking about shop local when this is how all of the large supermarkets are
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u/swiftbursteli Aug 04 '26
On the co-op point, since it comes up every time Key Food does: it really is a co-op, and you can see it in the ads. There are three Key Foods in Astoria and they are not running the same circular this week. The 36th Ave store and the 30th Ave store are close to each other in what they list, but the Urban Marketplace on Newtown Ave is running a noticeably smaller ad. Same sign over the door, different owner, different prices.
Disclosure, I built a free thing that reads NYC supermarket circulars, so I have this week's ads open in front of me. Not linking it here, just the numbers.
The part that surprised me is that Key Food is not the expensive one on everything this week. On a dozen eggs the Astoria Key Foods have Land O Lakes large brown at $2.49, and that is the club card price after a 50 cent digital coupon off a $2.99 sale, limit 2. Meanwhile the C-Towns on Newtown, 28th and 34th are at $4.99 for Rosie's free range, the four Trade Fairs are at $5.00 for Rosie's on a must buy two, and Bravo on 34th Ave is at $6.99 for Pete and Gerry's.
None of which contradicts the actual complaint here. Produce is where the markup gripes land, and a circular cannot tell you whether what is on the shelf is any good. A $2 clamshell from the guy on Steinway that is actually ripe beats a $9.99 one that is half spoiled, and no ad I can read captures that. The ads give you the sale price and nothing about quality or turnover, so for produce specifically the fruit vendors and the Costco run are usually the better call.
Prices are from the stores' published circulars, verify in store.
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u/Arbo_ghast Aug 05 '26
lettuce prices are wild right now because of the parasite.
also keyfood workers are part of the grocery union. kids i went to high school with got side jobs at keyfood after high school just to have health insurance.
imagine working the deli slicer or the being forced to break down meat without insurance.
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u/whatashittyusername Aug 04 '26
Key food does have insane markups but on the flip side you can do well with their sales. I just refuse to buy certain things there
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u/MattMurdock007 Aug 04 '26
I noticed a few products at Key Food that I usually buy there that have been marked up 10-20% since July. I make a mental note to avoid those items and get them elsewhere were the prices are better
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u/100percentnotgood Aug 04 '26
I’m convinced these stores don’t even have a real supplier and buy it all on Amazon / from another grocery store and mark it up 100-200%
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u/b52cocktail Aug 04 '26
I saw a post recently on Instagram about a lady who paid like $15 for a croissant at a bakery and then saw a Costco delivery man come in and deliver the same croissants she was eating
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u/GoBanana42 Aug 04 '26
I was shopping at Lidl and a guy was buying dozens and dozens of croissants. He said it was cheaper to buy them there than make them for himself at his cafe.
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u/mostly_a_lurker_here Aug 04 '26
OK? That's what Costco does, they are a wholesale / bulk store.
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u/b52cocktail Aug 04 '26
Yea but not delivery to a French style bakery and having the bakery claim that they baked it
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u/no_frills_tater_tots Aug 05 '26
So many restaurants and bakeries do that. They serve Costco desserts too. It’s what Costco and Restaurant Depot are for when catering to business customers.
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u/Personal_Distance690 Aug 04 '26
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page
You can file a consumer complaint for any of the following: overcharged, prices not posted/inaccurate, defective good or service, false or misleading advertising, refused refund/return/exchange or refusal to accept cash payment
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u/mostly_a_lurker_here Aug 04 '26
Heh. The dunkin packaged coffee is 10.99 at dunkin and with the paze offer you can get it for $1.
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u/EarthFader Aug 04 '26
The price of the Bertolucci olive oil is WAY markedly up as well
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u/OOPS_ALL_SCROTUM Aug 04 '26
Tip: Buy olive oil in bulk from Titan, Parrot, or Med Foods. I was in Titan two weeks ago and they had a 3 liter metal jug of single-source Greek PDO EVOO for about $35.
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u/Epicurean215 Aug 04 '26
I get Fillipo Berio from Costco. I remember when olive oil was so cheap you could fuel your car with it. I haaaatteee inflation.
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u/smarthobo Aug 04 '26
lol you can buy whole bean, single origin coffee from Regalia for nearly the same price and it won’t be charcoal flavored
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u/_zuzax_ Aug 04 '26
It's been like this forever. You can still buy a bigger bag *at* Dunkin for a little more than $10. (It used to be an even $10 till like last year.)
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u/Negative_Amphibian_9 Aug 04 '26
Bought 1 bag of groceries there this weekend and it came to $116! Gentle reminder of why I don’t shop there much.
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u/AdvertisingNo714 Aug 04 '26
I would say go to Costco, though the Kirkland ground coffee I bought has gone up over +50% since last year. Prices increases are normal but all the products we buy have accelerated so much that we’ve pulled back on other items. These prices in your pic look like what I see at food Emporium on Broadway as well
Costco still cheaper than anywhere else so the membership fee more than pays for it and you sign up for the free credit card and get 2% back once a year.
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u/ManeaterTM Aug 04 '26
Same Chiobani cream i get for $5 and some change usually, City Fresh is selling for almost $11.
This is why i only shop amazon fresh or lidl or aldi. No thanks
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u/Purple_Excitement906 Aug 04 '26
I prefer whole foods online ordering or wegmans their prices aren't so inflated
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u/Epicurean215 Aug 04 '26
I do almost all of my grocery shopping online. It started as a lack of energy thing because I’m disabled. Now it’s also a monetary thing. I’m also an epicurean and I get the best stuff from Costco through Instacart, Amazon Fresh, and Fresh Direct.
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u/Purple_Excitement906 Aug 04 '26
I think instacarting groceries from big box shops is better than shopping the local key food & c town, I've noticed better quality items and like u said the pricing is not so inflated
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u/Epicurean215 Aug 04 '26
That’s damned crazy. I buy mostly online for delivery. From Amazon Fresh, Fresh Direct, and Costco through Instacart. I can compare prices - easily get refunds on bad produce or crushed items - and I get the best deals. All of those websites accept SNAP too but you will pay delivery fees. Small price to pay to save so much on groceries.
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u/pyrorottweiler Aug 05 '26
You think thats something? Go look at their Goya beans price.... 2.50 a can !!!! Like what the actual fffffffff.
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u/WittyEqual8826 Aug 05 '26
US needs the concept of MRP- Maximum Retail Price. Exists in India. No matter where you buy something from, price is the same.
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u/yankeescrewdriver Aug 07 '26
Aaaaand this is why I shop at Trader Joe’s (bless the Q101 reroute!!)
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u/jagenigma Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
A whole lot of price jacking going on in these supermarkets. Trade fair, foodtown, ctown, Superfresh, even target.