Socialist Mamdani says city-run grocery stores will undercut supermarkets by 30%

A 30% grocery markdown?

That is the pricing framework that will guide the city’s five government-owned grocery stores, democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced during a press conference Monday.

'Our five city-run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices.'

Standing in front of shelves stocked with produce in a Brooklyn warehouse, Mamdani addressed the sharp rise in grocery prices over the past several years, citing a 30% increase since 2019.

To offset that increase, the mayor announced “a collection of essential staples that will be predictably 30% cheaper at all five of our city-run grocery stores.”

The discount will apply to items including fresh produce, meat, seafood, and “20 other essential items like cheese, milk, and bread,” Mamdani said, adding that prices will be set once per month to eliminate week-to-week fluctuations.

“Once a month, our five city-run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices. No exceptions.”

The mayor has repeatedly pledged — both on the campaign trail and since taking office — to open one of these stores in each of the city’s five boroughs. The first location is expected to open in the Bronx by the end of 2027, with the remaining four stores slated to be operational by the end of his four-year term, including one in East Harlem.

Mamdani also said the city-run grocery stores would not sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets, or hot food, which are typically among the most profitable products for bodega and convenience store owners. The move is intended to address concerns that the mayor’s initiative could undercut privately owned stores in the surrounding areas.

RELATED: Mamdani plan includes 5 city-run grocery markets — with massive price tag

“We know that a lot of what drives revenue for these bodegas, grocery stores, those are things that make it possible for them to continue to operate. Those are not things we have any interest in competing for,” Mamdani said.

Former Mayor Eric Adams (D) has been a vocal critic of the initiative, arguing that Mamdani's plan would “devastate the local bodegas and local stores and the local supermarkets where they employ people," calling it “not the right thing to do.”

Grocery executive John Catsimatidis, the owner of Gristedes and D’Agostino Supermarkets, has also bashed the proposal. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Catsimatidis predicted the mayor's program “would collapse our food supply, kill private industry, and drag us down a path toward the bread lines of the old Soviet Union."

Under the current proposal, the city would own the property and cover the costs of construction, rent, and property taxes. A private operator would partner with the city to manage the stores' day-to-day operations, including sourcing products, stocking shelves, and maintaining customer service.

Mamdani is now seeking private operators to run the stores, inviting applicants with grocery management experience to take part in the city’s government-owned retail experiment.

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