Mamdani plans 30 pct grocery discount at city-owned shops

NEW YORK

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at an announcement event of a city-wide, discounted grocery plan for city-run municipal grocery stores, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores stirred up critics who roasted the idea as the democratic socialist’s first step toward creating communist bread lines in the city.

The mayor offered a different vision for the city-owned shops on July 27, announcing that they would instead provide a 30 percent discount on produce, meat and a host of other kitchen staples as a way to offset the rising food pricesin one of America’s most expensive cities.

The five stores are expected to be placed in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first set to open toward the end of 2027 in the Bronx. He plans to have all five operational by the end of his four-year term.

“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” Mamdani said at a news conference at a warehouse in Brooklyn. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

The city has started the process of picking private operators to handle day-to-day operations of the shops. The administration will provide storefronts while covering rental costs and property taxes, officials said.

The plan has rankled some smaller grocers and owners of the city’s ubiquitous bodega corner stores, who worry they won’t be able to compete with discounted food prices at the city-run shops.

At his news conference, Mamdani said the city-owned stores would not sell hot food or other items like beer or cigarettes, as a way to avoid sapping away profitable business from private
stores.