Hunters Point actually does have a grocery store, albeit a small one
C-town grocery store on 21st St, Hunters Point, LIC
We at liQcity have enjoyed lamenting about the lack of grocery store in Hunters Point. As it turns out, we were wrong – as has been frequently pointed out by a regular commenter. (You know who you are.) We were in denial! Or we just actually never visited the C-town at the corner of 44th Drive and 21st St, in Courthouse Sq, which as we all know, is a part of Hunters Point.
All that’s changed now. We went there. It’s a bona-fide grocery store folks. It’s small, but they have all the basics. The produce section is decent. There are both yuppy and hipster vittles, though somewhat limited. Mostly mainstream, commercial products. But it was decently clean, and much more gently priced than the E & I Deli on Vernon Blvd.
It’s located right next to a subway entrance for the E,V,G trains, which is convenient, but it sort of serves a limited geography. It’s still not very accessible for Vernon-Jackson residents, and Queenswesters might as well go to Astoria or Greenpoint for fancier stores that are just as far. Courthouse Square residents who are off Jackson Ave also are probably more easily served by Greenpoint. Oh yeah, and the hours are relatively limited. Didn’t see any officially posted, but they don’t seem to be open past 8pm or so.
Overall, C-town in Hunters Point gets a B/B-. The hours could be longer, some of the buying could be improved, but the prices are reasonable, and it’s relatively clean and maintained. So, we’ll be busy modifying our battle-cry for a grocery store in Vernon-Jackson and Queenswest. Long Island City and it’s subneighborhoods! Sheesh.
The produce section of Hunters Point C-town, LIC
For even more pix of the C-town interior, check out the Flickr set.
yes–at least it’s there but come on–13 minutes-especially in the winter-to walk and get groceries? no thank you–i’d rather order in from the delicious newly opened BANY (hilariously named best asian of new york) on jackson. Just make sure you tell them to ease up on the spice factor-even the meals listed as non-spicy-are on fiyahhhhhhh.
A grocery store in Hunters Point is always going to be a long walk away for at least some of the neighborhood residents. The same is true for practically every area in Manhattan.
Off topic, but interesting article on curbed today:
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/03/18/reader_rant_commie_boards_bow_ties_ruining_city.php
Can we do something like this in support of water taxi beach and the CUNY dorms?
Actually you don’t have to walk cross town to get to CTown. Just hop on the7 at Vernon-Jackson to Ct Square. In good weather, it’s a pleasant walk and no farther than most stores in urban areas unless you live in an apt complex that houses a super market. KeyFood is very accessible via the bus. Also, both CTown and Key Food deliver so you don’t have to tote your bags back home.
I wager that many of the new trend-conscious Hunters Point residents wouldn’t be caught dead toting plastic shopping bags from CTown, let alone take a bus to Greenpoint.
trend conscious = yuppie
That C-town is much improved now. It used to be kind of dirty. But definitely it’s cleaned up and usable. It’s not Gristedes, but it does the job in a pinch. Except when they’re closed which is a lot.
they DELIVER #6.
No. 9, let me rephrase my original comment: the new yuppie residents wouldn’t be caught dead having their groceries DELIVERED by CTown.
Fresh Direct is for the yuppies.
C-Town in Greenpoint is surprisingly expensive and annoying that they will only sell you 7 jalapeño peppers in a shrink wrapped package (or ginger, or shallots, or mushrooms, etc). However if you can find a stock boy they will rewrap it with as few as you want. Pathmark up Northern Blvd a little bit rocks though.
It’s between 44th DRIVE and 45th AVENUE on 21st STREET.
The store is open until 9:00 every night, except Sunday when it closes at 7:00. And it has closed at that time ever since I moved to the neighborhood 15 years ago. This same question came up on another local blog last year and they had them closing at 8:30, despite my insistence.
Now I realize blogs are not beholden to the standards of traditional journalism, understandably given the disparity in resources, but when a post announces it’s never been to LIC’s only grocery store, gets the location wrong, and makes a point about the store’s closing hours which it has incorrect, it’s a little hard to take seriously.
This post is just retarded, as anyone who actually lives (and shops, and eats) in the neighborhood would tell you. That’s also not Court Square, you twit. Court Square is… wait for it… over by the courthouse.
Thanks for posting the correct hours.
#15 You are the twit. This is one block from Courthouse Square, and right around the corner from the entrance to the Citibank Tower. Totally Court Sq. Don’t listen to him liQcity, or her.
where’s Brandon? He would so be all over this.
The elevated #7 subway stop at that location is “Court Square” – thus the area is known as “Court Square”.
The yuppies shouldn’t be carrying plastic bags anyway. They should be sporting their own eco-friendly tote bags…no one even has to know where your groceries come from! My only issue with C-Town is the prices…I find they’re quite steep. I do quite well at the deli on Vernon at 50th.
I was on vacation. Hi. You can totally bring one of those designer bags that say “I’m not a plastic bag” to C-Town. Or a knapsack. Or cart. Or whatevs.
In other news, the Creek and the Cave = done doing shows due to neighbor noise conflicts. Who wants to open a new rock club?
Also, I saw a grocery store in Ravenswood the other day, if we really want to get complicated. And there’s a huge grocery store over on Northern Blvd I saw once that may or may not be in LIC. Big ‘hood.
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The Key Food is Greenpoint is awesome–and it’s right over the bridge. Magret of duck and quail eggs–and pierogi and kielbasa , too.