Fairway Market in Plainview is closing after an unsuccessful effort by its parent company to sell it and three other Fairway Market grocery stores after declaring bankruptcy in January.
The Plainview store, located in Manetto Hill Plaza, was Fairway Market’s last location on Long Island. A 2014 bid to expand into Suffolk County via a location in Lake Grove proved unsuccessful, with the store closing within two years of its debut.
The move comes after legal documents in May showing that Fairway Market expected “mass layoffs,” affecting up to 2,412 employees. In addition to stores, Fairway’s distribution center and corporate headquarters in New York City are also closing.
In an announcement on social media, Fairway Market stated that ownership of the brand, as well as five New York City locations, had been purchased by Village Super Market, owner and operator of Shop-Rite stores.
“We want to thank the 1,400 Fairway associates that have kept this business running through the turmoil of the last seven years and more importantly the last three months,” the company wrote on their Facebook page, calling their employees “front-line heroes.” Village Super Market did not return a request for comment.
Founded in 1933 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Fairway Market gradually expanded with the Plainview location opening in 2001 as the chain’s first store on Long Island. The store employed 95 associates at time of closing and boasted a loyal customer base, including Suffolk resident Barbara Blumberg, who described travelling “30-45 minutes” to patronize the store.
With its motto of “The Place to Go Fooding,” Fairway was a treasured local chain for the Greater New York area, describing itself as “the iconic market like no other” and “New York’s favorite grocery store.”
“We are committed to establishing a neighborhood presence, improving the offering of these specialty markets, and providing a memorable experience in the products and services we offer,” Fairway Market stated of its direction under new ownership.
Other Fairway locations have been converted by new owners into an Amazon Go store in Paramus, N.J., and a Foodway Supermarket in the Georgetowne neighborhood of Brooklyn, operated by Key Food, Inc.
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