Are city-run grocery stores a good idea?
Image: Adam Gray
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani last week announced the first location for his plan to construct city-owned grocery stores across the Big Apple, as local food prices continue to soar.
What’s in store for NYC
The first location, La Marqueta, will be a ~9,000-sq-ft grocery store built on city land in Harlem at an estimated cost of ~$30 million.
- A private operator will be selected to manage daily operations, with a contractual requirement to pass savings directly to customers on a core basket of everyday staples.
- In addition to Harlem, Mayor Mamdani says he aims to open city-owned grocery stores in each of NYC’s five boroughs by the end of his first term, at a projected overall cost of ~$70 million.
The push comes as grocery prices in NYC have risen by ~66% over the past decade, well above the national average. Mamdani’s plan aims to lower those prices by offering goods at as close to wholesale value as possible in city-owned stores, with public ownership meaning they can operate as a non-profit or a "break-even" entity.
NYC officials also frame the city-owned stores as a way to boost access to fresh groceries in low-income neighborhoods, which are typically avoided by private grocery chains due to lower profit margins.
Not everyone is sold
Critics, including GOP officials along with local bodega owners and grocery stores, argue the plan represents an attempt at government price controls over groceries, which history and economic theory show are bad in practice, and lead to the inefficient allocation of goods.
- They also contend that Mamdani’s plan gives city-owned stores an unfair advantage over private companies, especially small businesses.
- Because the city absorbs certain costs, opponents say these locations could undercut small grocery stores and bodegas that don’t have the same financial backing.
There are also broader concerns about timing. The proposal comes as NYC faces a significant budget crunch—including ~$78 billion needed for public housing repairs, and another ~$69 billion for the MTA—which has pushed the mayor to consider higher taxes.
Looking ahead…NYC officials say a smaller city-owned pilot store could open as early as 2027, though details have yet to be finalized. Mamdani’s overall plan still requires City Council approval before moving forward.
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Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that there’s a basket full of devils in the details of Mamdani’s supermarket plan, including no details on how it’ll be paid for, who will run it, and how it plans to tackle the challenges of selling groceries in a very high-rent city—plus the fact that stores won’t open for at least a year (or three).
- Others contend that Mamdani’s pilot program seems like a worthy experiment to see whether city-owned grocery stores can solve NYC’s localized issues, and note that $60 million is a tiny fraction of the city’s $100+ billion annual budget.
- “A basket full of questions about Mayor Mamdani’s supermarket plan” –amNewYork Editorial Board
- “Zohran Mamdani’s Proposals Are Surprisingly Affordable” –Richard Eskow, Common Dreams
- “New York City Has the Power to Bring Down Grocery Prices. All Cities Do.” –Zephyr Teachout, NY Times
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that Mamdani’s idea for city-owned grocery stores has already been disproven by history, and will result in private grocery stores and bodegas having their prices undercut by collectivist competition from the government.
- Others contend that Mamdani’s idea of city-owned grocery stores seeks to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, with grocery prices up nominally nationwide over the past year, and is also a poor way to go about ‘solving’ the issue of high prices, since gov’t can’t operate as efficiently as the private sector.
- “Grocery Socialism in New York City” –WSJ Editorial Board
- “Mamdani’s mad supermarket gambit” –James Rogan, Washington Examiner
- “Will Mamdani only offer four years of ‘Potemkin socialism’ like his grocery fiasco?” –NY Post Editorial Board
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