Compare Fresh supermarket set for March opening in Hempstead

A new supermarket is coming to Hempstead — and some customers will need only to come downstairs to shop.

Compare Fresh, a smaller-format supermarket, will open in March on the ground floor of the new five-story apartment development, 159 Main, said the store's owner Jose Urena, who also operates Compare Foods in Brentwood.

The 16,000-square-foot store will carry groceries and include a deli, butcher and grab-and-go section with prepared food, Urena said. But unlike many Long Island supermarkets, Urena expects the store to have a greater share of walk-in customers as opposed to shoppers driving to the store and filling their trunks.

The store will benefit from close proximity to potential customers. The new 159 Main development has 228 apartments, which will be awarded through a housing lottery next month, and another neighboring apartment building, Estella, has 96 units.

"We have enough customers upstairs so they could, on the way home, pass by the store and grab what they need for the day," Urena said. "They don’t need to stockpile a lot of stuff. In that sense, it’s fresher for them."

Compare Fresh is independently owned by Urena but the brand is part of Associated Supermarket Group, which provides marketing, purchasing and technology services to independent stores.

Urena said Hempstead Deputy Mayor Jeffery Daniels encouraged him to open the store in the village after reading about Compare’s 2022 opening in Brentwood. Earlier this year, the village received $10 million in state downtown revitalization funds.

"We’re happy to be part of revitalizing Hempstead," Urena said.

The store will have 52 employees, including cashiers and workers in its deli, butcher, produce, grocery, dairy and frozen departments. Hiring will begin in January, Urena said.

It will be the latest to open in Hempstead following the debut of Shop Fair on North Franklin Street earlier this year.

Grocery stores have small profit margins because of their labor costs and intense competition. Compare Fresh will face competition from big-box retailers, supermarkets, discount grocers and convenience stores as well as specialty grocers, said Jeff Metzger, founder and publisher emeritus of industry publication Food Trade News.

The average net profit for food retailers last year was 1.7%, according to FMI, an Arlington, Virginia-based food industry trade association.

Grocers are also contending with a younger generation of shoppers who are less loyal and shop at multiple stores. But it makes sense that the store would cater to nearby tenants and commuters, Metzger said.

"Retailers are chameleons," he said. "They will adapt if there’s an opportunity where they believe there is a solid business model."

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.