New, Improved Foodtown Rises From the Ashes

Slideshow: Watch as Foodtown burns to the ground and then opens up last Saturday. (All photos by Adi Talwar)

By Jordan Moss and Lulaine Compere

Norwood’s popular Foodtown supermarket which was razed in a suspected incident of arson at the end of 2009 is back in business.

The store, now 50 percent larger with many more offerings, has taken up two neighboring storefronts that were home to a diner and a dental office that were also destroyed in the blaze.

“We expanded the store, we have a bigger seafood department, bakery department, produce department, and we have expanded the deli,” said Noah Katz, a member of the family that has owned the store since 1956.

Organic produce and frozen goods are new additions as are an olive and cheese counter and a section with a variety of coffee beans called Brewed Awakening.

Katz led the design of the new store, he said, and his pride in the store’s bright, spacious new look was palpable throughout a quick tour on Tuesday.

The supermarket’s total makeover includes wider aisles for shopping carts and strollers, modern lighting, and a number of large photos of a Bronx gone by, including Mosholu Parkway in 1911 and the intersection of Fordham Road and Valentine Avenue in 1951. Katz chose the images with the help of the Bronx County Historical Society.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 1

Welcome to February, Boogie Downers. Everyone enjoying Mother Nature's offering  this morning of a swirling, prickly mongrel mix of snow and ice? It feels like someone's tossing a fistful of tacks at you while you walk around in this stuff.

This type of sleet/snow is expected to continue through the morning, tapper off in the afternoon and then pick back up tonight with winds blowing everything around after midnight. Then, for a fun change of pace tomorrow, it's going to rain!

[Pause for everyone to throw something or bang their head against their desk.]

OK, we've regrouped. On to the news.

Story of the Day:
Norwood's Foodtown supermarket, which burned down 13 months ago in a fire that investigators say was the result of arson, is scheduled to re-open this month, say co-owners Dan and Noah Katz. Residents say Foodtown's big (11,000-square-feet of shopping space) return will be a boost to a community beset by two devastating 2009 fires.

The other fire, on Halloween of last year, destroyed a bustling commercial corner (where Bainbridge Avenue turns south toward Mosholu Parkway) of 10 businesses. That lot remains vacant and serves as a constant reminder (read: eyesore) to residents. But as we reported last month (and the Daily News reiterated today), West Bronx Stores, Inc., the entity that owns the lot is actively trying to lease and develop the property. Stay tuned.

Quick Hits: 
Despite vague and gossipy rumors of a serious illness, the Bronx's own Father of Hip-Hop, DJ Kool Herc, aka Clive Campbell, is simply recovering from surgery to remove kidney stones. However, it is true that Herc doesn't have medical insurance and is struggling to pay for continued health care.

The Baron Ambrosia, aka Justin Fornal (does everyone have a moniker these days?), the colorfully eccentric star of Bronxnet's "Bronx Flavor" food show, hosted the First Annual Bronx Pipe Smoking Society Small Game Dinner at the old Bronx Borough Courthouse. The Baron asked chefs to prepare meats taken from small woodland creatures, including beavers, muskrats, otters, a squirrels, an opossum and a fisher. Yum.

Cory Gunz, the Bronx rapper managed by his father, Bronx rapper Peter Gunz, is set to star in a new show on MTV. 

More reflections from Bronx-born filmmaker Rashaad Ernesto Green following the debut of his film "Gun Hill Road" at Sundance.

The DN's Bob Kappstatter says Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein's bold move to break away from the Democratic minority conference and form his own independent caucus is paying dividends, as the foursome has garnered three chairmanships (which are handed out by the GOP majority) and is increasingly making the John Sampson-led Democrats "irrelevant." Kappy also has some nice to things to say about the late Bronx pol Guy Velella who died last week and a buffet of other Bronx nuggets.

[Editor's Note:] Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news and features, like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here.

Norwood News On-Line (includes coverage of Megan Charlop's passing)

The latest issue of the Norwood News is on-line with an article and editorial about the tragic death of Megan Charlop, a longtime Norwood resident and community health advocate.

There are also stories about Foodtown's plans for rebuilding after a December blaze, an update on the relocation of local stores, the borough's presidents appointments to a new Kingsbridge Armory Task Force and much more. It's all here.

Fire Aftermath Update

The Daily News reported yesterday that among the businesses "destroyed" in Monday's fire on East 204th Street in Norwood, was McKeon Funeral Home. That is totally incorrect as we reported here on Monday. In fact, owner Bill Curran just told us that he has a funeral scheduled today. McKeon suffered a little bit of water and smoke damage, but the newly renovated funeral home survived largely intact. McKeon Funeral Home is located at 3129 Perry Ave. and the phone number is 718-655-6464.

We're a little short-staffed on this almost-holiday work day. Can anyone tell us whether Bank of American on the corner of East 204th Street and Bainbridge Avenue is open for business? The Daily News said that business was destroyed as well, and while we don't think that's the case -- the building appeared completely intact the day of the fire -- we wanted to make sure of  the bank's current status before we posted anything about it. 

Also, we wanted to provide a better phone number for residents wanting to order groceries by telephone from Foodtown --718-293-3032.  The other 718 number in our previous report is for Pricebusters, which will, in the next few weeks, provide some groceries. Residents can also order groceries for delivery on-line at www.foodtown.com. If you use either service, please let us know about your experience so we can share it with our readers and your neighbors.


We'll have a News Roundup and a little more news on the blog as the day progresses.

Breaking News: Foodtown to Reopen Bigger; Groceries to be Offered in Meantime at Pricebusters and On-Line

I just spoke to Dan Katz, whose family owns the newly renovated Foodtown on E. 204th St. that was just destroyed by yesterday's fire. The Katz's announced that they will rebuild an even larger store on the same site in 2010 and also provide groceries at Pricebusters, another store they own on E. 204th St. between Hull and Decatur avenues. They also said that shoppers could order on-line at www.foodtown.com or call a hotline to have their food delivered right to their door. They can also choose to pick up their groceries at Pricebusters.  The delivery cost will be $3 or free with a $50 purchase.

"Everyone should know that we are committed to serving the residents and we will rebuild and even bigger and better store that what was there," said Noah Katz, Dan's brother, in a press release. "We have a long term lease on the site and we have already hired architects and engineers to begin the process of building a brand new store."

Dan Katz told me that  they have an agreement with the landlord to lease the two other properties claimed by the fire -- the American Diner and the dental office -- in order to expand their business. (We spoke to the owner of Amiercan Diner earlier. Still in shock, he said he had no idea at this time what his plans are.) Katz said they were going to try to assist the dental office in relocating.

Pricebusters "will carry more grocery variety beginning in the next several weeks."  (The Pricebusters site had been a grocery store many years ago.)

Those with questions about ordering groceries on the Internet should call 914-667-3346 or 718-652-4753.

In the meantime, shoppers can immediately order food on-line at www.foodtown.com, and have them delivered or picked up at Pricebusters.

The Katz family, which owns 11 other Foodtown stores has operated the store on East 204th Street, first called MetFood, since Dan's grandfather, Paul, opened it in 1956. Their father, Sydney, joined Paul in 1962. Noah and Dan joned the company in the 1980s.

The workers have been transferred to the other Foodtown stores. "Without our staf, we would not be here in the first place," Noah Katz said.

Another Fire in Norwood in 51 days.

By now most of you have read the News and seen the destruction caused by the early morning fire on 204 street in the Norwood section of the Bronx.
The phone rang at 4:45 am and I thought "It cannot be another fire". The last time I had received an early morning call it was October 31 and we lost more than 10 businesses on Bainbridge ave. Here are some of the photographs I made while I watched my family's favorite store burn (Foodtown). "Where are we going to buy ice cream" was my 5 year old daughters reaction. The last quarter of 2009 has not been good for Our community. We are a close knit community here in Norwood. Thanks to my friend's call I was one of the first photographers to get to the location. You can see the empty snow covered lot created by the October 31st fire in the last photograph of the slide show

Fire in Norwood on 204th Street

Residents of Norwood awoke this morning to sounds, smells and sights of another devastating fire to the local business district and greater community. The FDNY received calls for the fire around 4:30am and by 6:30am over 160 firefighters had responded to subdue the blaze. The fire raged through the building that houses Foodtown and the American Diner, in the heart of the commercial strip on 204th Street. These photos were taken from the hallway of an apartment building on Rochambeau Avenue, images eerily similar to the fire on Halloween that destroyed a building and 12 businesses on Bainbridge Avenue. This fire now leaves two gaping wholes in what was an otherwise vibrant neighborhood commercial corridor.