Allegiance Retail Services has announced the opening of Widdis Food Market in Staten Island’s Rossville neighborhood, bringing a full-service supermarket with an emphasis on fresh foods, specialty departments and everyday grocery essentials.
Allegiance Retail Services has announced the opening of Widdis Food Market, a new 13,000-square-foot supermarket in the Rossville neighborhood of Staten Island.
The store, operated by independent grocer Shady Widdi, represents a significant renovation and repositioning of an existing neighborhood supermarket. Widdi, who also operates Foodtown of Noll Street in Brooklyn, has invested in the store’s design, fresh departments, product assortment and customer amenities.
“Every supermarket I build, I try to take what we learned from the last one and make the next one even better,” said Widdi, president of Widdis Food Market. “With Widdis Food Market, we are bringing that philosophy to Rossville. We are taking an established neighborhood supermarket and transforming it into a modern, high-end shopping experience while keeping the personal service and community connection that a neighborhood market should have.”
The supermarket features an extensive fresh produce department, premium meats with a full-service butcher shop, fresh seafood and a service fish counter. Additional departments include a full-service deli, bakery, café, juice bar and sushi.
The store also offers mozzarella made in-house, specialty and imported cheeses with a dedicated cheesemonger, prepared foods, a hot food bar, olive bar, soup bar and grab-and-go meals.
Alongside its fresh and specialty offerings, Widdis Food Market carries conventional grocery, dairy and frozen products, as well as natural and organic items.
The supermarket will also feature Best Yet private-label products and other value-priced merchandise, positioning the store to compete on everyday grocery needs while offering the assortment and service associated with specialty food retailers.
Online shopping options will be available to customers.
Samer Rahman, president and chief operating officer of Allegiance Retail Services, said the opening reflects continued investment by independent supermarket operators in neighborhood retail locations.
“Independent grocers like the Widdi family are continually raising the bar for what neighborhood supermarkets can offer their customers,” Rahman said. “With Widdis Food Market, they are bringing a state-of-the-art grocery shopping experience to Rossville, combining exceptional fresh food offerings, quality, variety and the latest in supermarket design with the personalized service that makes independent grocers so special.”
Widdi said the decision to invest in Rossville was driven by the neighborhood’s established residential base and the opportunity to upgrade an existing grocery location.
“We are investing in the store because we are investing in the neighborhood,” Widdi said. “Rossville is a strong, family-oriented community, and I believe the people who live here deserve a supermarket that reflects that.”