WINDSOR TERRACE — A temporarily shuttered supermarket that has been a dependable food source for the neighborhood reopened Wednesday after nearly two weeks.
Market Fresh at 238 Prospect Park West between Windsor Place and Prospect Avenue was back in business after a hiatus that had locals worried the store was closed forever, following in the footsteps of the Pathmark in Gowanus and other shuttered grocers.
But owner Samee Tharma says his store is here to stay, and will soon cater better to local tastes. Tharma said he closed the store Aug. 4 so he could rearrange inventory and make space for more "natural" and organic merchandise.
Tharma said he was about 80 percent finished with the makeover on Thursday and was expecting another big truck full of merchandise next week.
"In this neighborhood they want more healthy food, that's why we're doing it," Tharma said of the remodeling. "Now we have more space and we'll try to carry more products."
News of the reopening was first reported by Park Slope Stoop.
The store's sudden closure worried shoppers because Market Fresh is one of the larger supermarkets along Prospect Park West, the main commercial strip in northern Windsor Terrace. Tharma started as a manager at the 24-hour store in 2001 and bought it from the previous owner in 2009.
Shopper Alex Rodrigues, who visited the store with two kids in town on Thursday afternoon, said the closure was an inconvenience for him and his family. "It's nice it's open again," Rodrigues said. "It's like a block from home, the products are good, the service is good."
Grocery stores citywide have been disappearing or threatened with closure in recent years. In Gowanus, the Pathmark on 12th Street closed late last year. The building's new owner told DNAinfo earlier this month he still hasn't selected a tenant to replace the store.
In Park Slope, developers plan to tear down a Key Food on Fifth Avenue and Baltic Street and replace it with a smaller store. Fairway Market recently emerged from bankruptcy.
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