Compare Foods

Ok so I religiously shopped here since I live only a few blocks away. I no longer shop at this location for most items. This place is a disappointment for the following reasons:
–Most items are not labeled on the shelf with prices.
–Expired cereals, cheese, and other items ON A REGULAR BASIS. Check carefully!
–Incorrectly labeled chicken — organic is different from free range or antibiotic free. They slap organic on antibiotic free chicken and charge you for organic when it’s actually cheaper between $ 1−2/pound for antibiotic free chicken at most places.
–Organic beef prices were jacked up from the $ 11/​pound to a $ 17/​pound in the course of two weeks after they started carrying it.
–A lot of flies by the onions, potato, and rice area.
–Stopped carrying my favorite Ben & Jerry’s fro-​yo and even jacked the prices up to gas station pricing ($ 5+ pint).
–Their card reader constantly stops working… I’ve spent 1hr+ shopping to find out once I get to the register that I wasted an hour of my life and I don’t have any cash. Yay, starvation.
On the plus side they do some sales on Chobani (10 for $ 10) and 2 half galons of organic milk for $ ⁵⁄₆.

What was formerly Compare is now Key Food Fresh (as of 3+ months ago it seems) and is on par with the other locations.

Totally agreed with TERESA C REVIEW OF 6÷2÷2015 Specially when it comes to the meat being old and overprice. The fruits also spoil very quick if you see the oranges always have one of two spoil ones on almost every package. and I also agreed the cashiers ring some time twice some items and the ones they claim are on sale by the time the cashier rings it the price is at regular price. it is so bad they are the only supermarket nearby they need competition maybe and only them the may improve I dough it key food is just as bad as compare it is the same people THE HEALTH DEPARMENT NEED TO DO THEIR JOB ON THESE SUPERMARKETS. for them to follow the guidelines
FOT THEM TO FOLLOW HELATH GIDE LINES

This place is now a Key Food. It isn’t any better. Staff is the same. I only go in the afternoon to evening so who knows if there are intelligent people working in the day.
Too much stuff going on outside the store. Selling plants to smoothies. Way to much going on out there. Inside still is the same. Sales a majority of the time are not in the computer. One particular day last month I picked up three frozen food items with signs in front of them. Each item rang up normal price. Perdue chicken nuggets were advertised for 4.99 and so was the tilapia from the frozen section. The lady with that blonde hair had to check the circular and then walk to it and come back and proceed to make all the corrections.
I now make sure I take pictures of the signs in the aisle because this is a nuisance. Today I bought the loose rolls. I see on the screen 4.00 and then a dollar. I let her continue to scan. When she’s done I asked her what the 4 dollars was and she calls out «void» I know this cashier and I don’t get along because I constantly point out mistakes. I do understand Spanish and she once made a comment because I watch the prices ring up. I wouldn’t have to if they got their act together.
Chop meat spoils in a day if not cooked immediately.
Let’s hope that the Key Food owners learn how this place is and make corrections. Not saying fire anyone but get on their butts. Only good department in here is the deli.
They get a plus for being the one store to find the Jimmy Fallon ice cream. Whomp whomp!

compare is open 24 hours a day — its only redeeming feature. prices are surprisingly high (e.g., cereals), and every so often, a product is spoiled or bad. when that happens, they don’t exactly say, «sorry.» fortunately, a health food store recently opened up on 37^th avenue between — i think — 83^rd and 84^th — which seems to have much of what compare lacks: great food, fair prices, and staff that doesn’t seem as if they emerged from a coma five minutes before work.

I used to practically live at this place, but it’s really gone down hill in recent months.
I got sick from a frozen food item I bought there. I mean really sick. I almost ended up at the hospital. They just said sorry but didn’t offer any sort of compensation.
They double charged me for an item, then said they’d have to check their tape to prove that I’d been double charged. Because they were short staffed, they wanted me to wait 15 minutes so they could go watch the tape. Um… nope. I just left.
My least favorite aspect of this store was that after I paid for a few things, AFTER, the evening manager, older woman, told me I’d have to check my stroller because I had stuff in the bottom basket. I keep my wallet, phone, and keys in the stroller. Where should I put them? Oh yeah, and where should I put my kid? Just ridiculous! I’ve brought my stroller for the past year, and now I’m not welcome with it?
Yeah, just go to any of the other options in the area. This store gets 1.5 stars because the overnight crew is friendly and they are 24 hours.
Their prices are some of the worst in the area. Sometimes I find cheaper prices at Eataly. Eataly! You know, the expensive store in Manhattan. Downtown Market on 37^th avenue is better for health food brands. Food Bazaar has better produce and meat.
Forget this place! And good luck trying to contact a human from their business. Their company website doesn’t even include a phone number.

they suck!!! the isles are too small and the cashiers are too busy pay attention to
everything else but the customer and i will never go back there ever again.

Big market located on 86 street and northern boulevard, has a small parking lot with a separate entrance and exit .
Very packed and lines get very long but move relatively fast, the isles are very tight so it’s hard to navigate around the market especially when it’s busy .
Excellent prices, very good deals, sales .
Great and fresh selection of fruits, vegetables, this market has alot of vegetables you can’t find elsewhere, they even have aloe plants, fresh cinnamon sticks and many products from Mexico, Colombia etc
Meat selection is big also and very cheap, frozen vegetable section is the biggest I’ve seen in any market. The ethnic products are endless. Great selections of cheeses and even the spanish cheeses, I saw at least 3 different sections with cheeses, front when you enter is the blocks of cheese, then in the back by the milk is the shredded cheeses, and mozzarella sticks and then a few steps away is a freezer with all the spanish cheeses .
Also a big selection of beauty products, deodorants, soaps, hair dyes and I also noticed they had some diet teas, pills and also breast enlargement pills hahahaha
Since I discovered this market which was last week I have not been to my regular market at all, I always shopped at berry farm fresh but not anymore, compare foods has a way better and bigger selection the prices are much better and there is a parking lot ! It’s awesome

Huh? What? Oh it’s 4am and you need kitty litter, toothbrush and some soy milk? Yes This place is 24 hrs, has medium prices unless you are buying Spanish products then they have great prices. It’s cleanish and you can got in out out fast at most times of the day.

I live much closer to Mi Tierra, but prefer to walk over to this store for the better prices and selection among other things. There are better supermarkets in Queens overall, but along this section of Northern Blvd. this is probably my favorite grocery store.

Your typical Dominican Supermarket. Well Stocked, Lots of spanish foods, good everyday prices. Get en in Get en out, they that very well. Open 24 hours. What else can you ask for?
How about some order at the check out. Bigger isles. Yeah but then they can’t pack em in there. More cashiers during the day. They’re fast and all but come on folks. Today i went and they had two cashiers and a bunch of folks waiting. Maybe it’s just me being me again. They are the only game in town though around here.

24 hours! I always find cheap onions, carrots & potatoes here. I stick to the sale items. I come here for the convenience…2 blocks away from me and never closed! Not a lot of variety and tight aisles but in an emergency this market works for me.

Having discovered that I’m out of bread around midnight and the thought of no breakfast is just not cool.
Fortunately I was near Compare Foods which opens 24-​hours.
They have a HUGE variety of Spanish food items in this store!
The store aisles are clean but small and you can get claustrophobia. There is a small parking lot.
I got my bread so my breakfast was saved.

Free parking, Open 24 hours, great deli department, fresh meat selection, and if you look well enough you will find some good bargins and some cool unique products. I agree with Jamel — the produce is overpriced and the selection is limited compared to other local supermarkets.

This Four Stars is really three stars. I gave an extra star because of some oddities that you may like but dont really do it for me.
The place is pretty clean. They even have some free parking spaces. In the summer and sometimes during the day, there is a lady selling prepared foods in the front, at least I have encountered her several times.
The produce section is very hit or miss. The prices don’t compare on produce to Junction Food Bazaar. Nor does the size of the produce section. But they have that on lock I feel. They sell sushi in the front of the store. They also sell cheeses, etc in their deli. For a while they had a fish market, but it seems to have gone away and has been replaced with a latin cheese island and some bread holders.
The prices are not exactly spectacular. However, they do have sales. They are open 24 hours, which also contributes to the extra star. They seem to have up to date equipment and the people are friendly. I noticed a mistake in what I was charged on some items, and they fixed the problem right away.
The meat section is pretty large and is decent. Once again, I feel its inferior to food bazaar on junction, but they have things and are fine. I once had to pay over $ 4 for nilla wafers that I could have gotten half the price at food bazaar. But I didn’t want to walk there in the snow and well, I did get wafers and they were fine.
Often some of the coop gossip I hear from the older people involves things people have done in this place, so watch yourself, the neighbors are watching!

I really think this is more of a 3.5 star establishment, but since I gave C-​Town 3 stars, and this place is much better than C-​Town, I decided to go with the rating instead of a 3 star. But it is very much a solid 3.5 stars grocery store.
Things I like:
+ very clean and bright
+ produce section is large, varied, colorful and well-​maintained
+ large selection of beer
+ international aisle
+ decent sales and cheaper prices than C-​Town on processed goods
+ usually much emptier and quieter than the stores on 37^th Ave
+ doesn’t smell bad
+ pretty big selection of vegetarian products, given the neighborhood
Things I dislike:
— although the produce is quite varied, the flavor/​freshness is hit or miss
— the international aisle is really mostly Latin foods with a tiny Jewish section and some soy sauce
— crappy, surly cashiers (although to be fair, I don’t think pleasant cashiers even EXIST in this city)
— pathetic chip selection
Overall I would say that Compare is probably my favorite grocery store in Jackson Heights, simply because it’s so clean, well stocked and looks so organized. C-​town and Met Food are usually kinda dirty and always crowded, so Compare wins.