I have been told that the Natural food store on Austin Street will be taking over the CTown space next door. This will be at least the second time Natural has expanded in recent years, after having taken over an ice cream shop that used to be at the corner. CTown will be closing this weekend.
I like Natural overall. The thing that really spoils it for me is (most of) the cashiers. Some of them are just so unfriendly and act like they're doing you a favor. I do feel like C Town put up a good effort, but when you're right next door to Natural, C Town just can't compare. They don't sell enough produce to keep things as fresh as Natural and whenever I compared C Town and Foodtown for groceries, Foodtown was always less so I eventually gave up on CT, like many others I suppose. Hopefully Natural will reorganize the registers so you don't have to hover over the deli counter in that long line.
ReplyDeleteBefore the Natural took over the Baskin Robbins at the corner, the first expansion was when they took over the import store that was in between. You went to that store for teas, chocolates, fancy jams and crackers, etc. I cannot remember the name of the place, but it was a nice little store.
ReplyDeleteKoch and Nord.
DeleteThis is great news. Better than another bank or urgent care center coming in. I must get to Mr. Kim and tell him to install a coffee bar somewhere in the new space!
ReplyDeleteI rather liked the C-Town for some things - it was a good option to have. Kind of bummed it will be closing. But as usual, I am happy it will not be another bank or urgent care facility that will open in its space.
ReplyDeleteI am very excited about this. I hope Natural has a large prepared foods selection. There is no where in Forest Hills to get prepared foods for dinner.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with the comment about the cashiers. They are the most efficient cashiers I have ever seen. They might not be the most outgoing but I really appreciate the speed the work at.
I didn't say they weren't efficient. They are extremely efficient. The older ones are friendly with Russian speaking clientele and one of them doesn't even say anything when she rings up my order, maybe she mumbles the total but that's it, no thank you or anything. The male cashier is the most unfriendly of them all. I almost want to trade my spot in line so as to not have him. But overall, I do like the store so it is what it is.
DeleteMetro Meats on Metropolitan has a selection of prepared foods & are open 7 days a week.
DeleteI like Metro Meats but it is not somewhere I can run to at the end of the day. They are not convenient to the majority of FoHi who live closer to Austin. I do go there some weekends but on a weeknight I'd never back it there.
DeleteTotally agree. Metro Meats is a great little shop and the guy who always helps me couldn't be nicer, but if you live on the north side of Queens Blvd, it's a bit of a schelp.
DeleteNow that Naturals will get more space could they give the public sidewalk back to the residents? Taking up half the sidewalk on a busy street is very irritating when we all have to get out of the way so Mr Kim could make more money.
ReplyDeleteThey could be friendlier, perhaps they're really unhappy at Natural. I do wish prices were better. This area is real sad with limited grocery options. It's weird.
ReplyDeleteI used to shop at C-Town from time to time, but they generally had prices that were higher even than Natural's (at least on items sold by both stores). The last straw was when I found out the coffee beans I had been purchasing there were not $9.99/lb but $9.99 per 3/4 lb! Who prices coffee that way, unless they're trying to deceive you? I pretty much stopped shopping there after that.
ReplyDeleteI understand what the poster above says about the Natural cashiers not being super nice. If you get to know them, some of them can be friendly, but they definitely get along better with the Russian customers.
Those are the hardest working cashiers I have ever seen, especially on a Sunday evening when the store is packed. We should forgive them if they dispense with niceties. For us long timers, most of those cashiers have been there a long time which shows that the owner treats them very well. This is a great example of supporting the local guy. I'd rather have Mr. Kim from the neighborhood make money than Whole Foods based in Texas!
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, I wonder what they'll be doing with all that extra space? A coffee and dessert area wouldn't be a bad thing; neither would an extended deli counter.
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