Supermarket To Open At Shuttered Walgreens In Bayside, Permits Show

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A supermarket is set to replace a now-shuttered pharmacy in Bayside, building records show.

In mid-February, Walgreens closed its sole Bayside outpost, located at 39-20 Bell Boulevard near 39th Avenue, due to "dynamics of the local market," a spokesperson told Patch at the time.

Walgreens didn't respond to Patch's inquiry as to what would replace the pharmacy (the building was previously a Rite Aid), but alternation plans filed with the city as of last month indicate a supermarket is set to open in its place.

Alterations, like refurbishing lighting and relocating the building's rear entrance, started at the end of May, Department of Buildings work permits show, and an asbestos report from earlier this month indicates the work is on behalf of a "supermarket."

Exactly what kind of supermarket will open remains unclear. The lessee responsible for the market is named "Walfood Incorporated," permits show, a company based out of Bayside Hills.

No contact information for the corporation, or the building's landlord, was readily available.

Neighbors in Bayside responding on Facebook to rumors of a market opening at the shuttered pharmacy, pleaded (once again) that Trader Joe's open an outpost in the area.

Some, seemingly errantly, said that they heard Balducci's, a regional gourmet food market, or an Amazon depot were slated for the site (as far as Patch can tell, neither of those rumors are true).

Others, though, citing the permits, speculated that a small supermarket will open at 39-20 Bell Boulevard.

The soon-to-open supermarket isn't the only new grocery store opening in the area: earlier this year, a company linked to JMart, a Queens-based Asian supermarket located in Flushing's New World Mall, bought a building in Little Neck that used to be a Stop & Shop, Patch reported.