Best Market was a family-owned, regional supermarket chain with 30 stores in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The company was headquartered in Bethpage, New York, and had been owned by the Raitses family since the company's first store opened in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, in 1994."New Supermarket Chain Comes to CT" Fox CT, Retrieved November 4, 2013"About Best Yet Market," Best Yet Market Website , Retrieved October 18, 2013.
Best Market focused on fresh foods, especially produce, meat, seafood, deli and bakery, but also sold traditional grocery store items."Best Market Opens For Business in Holmdel Commons," Holmdel-Hazlet Patch, Retrieved October 27, 2013. Its stores typically have smaller overall footprints than competitors,"Holmdel Officials Join Best Market in Welcoming Beer and Wine Dept.," Holmdel-Hazlet Patch, Retrieved October 27, 2013."Best Yet to Open in Former Waldbaums," Newsday, Retrieved October 18, 2013. and its offerings also include in-house traditional barbecue,"Best Market | Wood Smoked BBQ," Best Market Website, Retrieved March 8, 2016. a juice bar, sushi department and large selections of craft beer"New Kid on the Block: Best Market," Tribeca Citizen, Retrieved March 9, 2016. in many stores."Long Island Supermarket Chain Wins Auction Of Northwood Plaza In Newington," Hartford Courant, Retrieved October 19, 2013.
History
Early Years, Produce Warehouse Best Market was a private, family-owned company. The business, which was founded as a small fruit and vegetable stand by Ben Raitses."From A Stand to a Supermarket: The Story of Best Market," The Island Now Retrieved February 20, 2016 The stand expanded into a storefront produce store and, later, into the first Produce Warehouse in 1994."'Best Market' Hiring 70 Workers for New Holmdel Store," Holmdel-Hazlet Patch Retrieved October 27, 2013.
Continuing its growth, the company opened up several more Produce Warehouse stores, focusing exclusively on New York and expanding from the outer boroughs of New York City into the suburbs of Long Island.
Best Yet Market The company's name was changed to Best Yet Market in 2002. In 2005, Best Yet had attempted a grocery delivery service in Manhattan that was ultimately unsuccessful. At the time, it competed with FreshDirect and Whole Foods Market, though Best Yet limited its offerings to the Upper East Side."Best Yet Market Launches New York City Delivery Service," Gourmet Retailer, Retrieved November 4, 2013. Though the delivery service was short-lived, Best Yet would begin offering grocery delivery again in parts of Harlem beginning in 2010., Retrieved November 04, 2013.
Best Yet had opened a new flagship store in Harlem, New York, in 2010, bringing the chain to Manhattan for the first time in the company's history and rectifying a shortage in fresh food offerings in the area, according to a New York City Department of City Planning survey."Going Upscale Uptown," New York Times, Retrieved October 20, 2013."Downsizing without Downsides," New York Times, Retrieved October 20, 2013."Going to Market: New York City’s Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage (pdf)," NYC.gov, Retrieved October 20, 2013. The Harlem store, which was funded in part with a million-dollar loan from the Upper Manhattan Development Zone, offers not only fresh produce, but also fresh meat and seafood departments, craft beer, and gourmet grocery products."New Supermarket in Neighborhood That Needs One," New York Times, Retrieved October 20, 2013.
The 2011 opening of a store in East Patchogue, New York earned the chain praise from East Patchogue city officials for bringing a market featuring fresh produce to what had been designated a food desert by New York state officials."E. Patchogue Food Desert Gets Market," Newsday, Retrieved October 20, 2013.
Best Market Best Yet Market began the process of changing the name of its stores from Best Yet Market to Best Market in 2012."Best Yet Launching New Banner," Supermarket News, Retrieved October 19, 2013. The company's first store outside New York, in Holmdel, New Jersey, opened in early 2012 as Best Market."Best Market opens its first NJ supermarket in Holmdel," Asbury Park Press, Retrieved October 17, 2013. Notably, the Holmdel Best Market dedicated 25% of its floor space to produce, and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the store, powered by an emergency generator, opened to customers and donated most of its undamaged food to local residents impacted by the storm."Best Market Donates Food to Storm Victims" Holmdel-Hazlet Patch Retrieved October 27, 2013
Expansion In 2013, the company expanded into a third state, opening a Best Market location in Newington, Connecticut. The Newington location offers traditional barbecue from an in-house smoker, expanding on a program first offered in its Harlem store. The Newington Best Market also includes an electric car charging station as part of an alliance with Connecticut Electric Car."Electric Car Installs First Smart Charging Station At New Market," Hartford Courant Retrieved November 23, 2013"CT Electric Car installs smart charging station" Hartford Business Journal Retrieved November 23, 2013 The same year, the company's West Babylon location won the "Best Retro Design" award from Progressive Grocer in that magazine's annual Store Design Contest."Brilliant Blueprints: Progressive Grocer Store Design Contest 2013," Progressive Grocer Retrieved October 20, 2013
Beginning in 2015, Best Market began purchasing former A&P locations in New York, including multiple Waldbaum's and Pathmark stores,"Best Yet Purchase of Waldbaum's, Pathmark stores approved by judge," Newsday Retrieved February 20, 2016"Best Market To Buy Five More Waldbaum's, Pathmarks," Newsday Retrieved February 20, 2016"Best Market Opens Doors to Fill Need Left by Waldbaums," The Island Now , Retrieved February 20, 2016. as well as one former Food Emporium in Tribeca."Grocery Chain to the Rescue, Ready to Fill Food Emporium Void," Tribeca Trib Online Retrieved March 8, 2016. These locations were all opened under its new Best Market banner, increasing the total number of the company's stores from 19 to 26. The company then opened four more stores in 2016, bringing its total number of stores to 30 and the Best Yet Market name was fully phased out by the end of that year.
In August 2016, Best Market and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced it would move its headquarters from Bethpage to Bay Shore, Long Island, taking over a former Entenmann's factory that closed in 2014. The new headquarters would function as the cornerstone of a proposed regional food hub and incorporate food production facilities, distribution for the chain's stores, and a food incubator to support emerging food entrepreneurs. The move was funded in part by the Empire State Development Corporation, which offered a $1 million tax credit in exchange for a promise to create 125 new jobs at the facility and invest approximately $6 million in renovating the building.
Buy Out & acquisition Lidl, a German based grocery chain, has bought out and acquired all of the Best Markets stores statewide except the Newington location. The Newington location was still owned by the Best Market ownership and renamed Local Market. On September 21, 2020, Local Market went out of business.
Locations According to its website, Best Market has operated 30 locations in New York, and New Jersey."Store Locator - Best Market," Best Market Website, Retrieved March 9, 2016.
Sustainability Best Market has instituted multiple green initiatives at its stores and Bethpage headquarters. It operates an all-hybrid vehicle fleet, including several electric vehicles, and offers car charging stations at some stores. Several store locations are partially powered by solar energy, including its Massapequa store, which relies almost exclusively on solar panels installed on the store's rooftop for its electricity."Best Yet Market Inc Solar Project," National Grid Energy Management , Retrieved March 9, 2016.
References
External links Official website