The village of Mineola board of trustees reserved decision on an application to open a supermarket at the site of the former King Kullen on Jericho Turnpike.
At the meeting on March 8, the board heard an application by Weilin Zhang, Meixila Huang and their parents, who have been in the supermarket business for 25 years, to occupy the location that was formerly King Kullen at 52 Jericho Tpke. They currently have supermarkets at other locations in New York and Philadelphia. The application will not interfere with the Rite Aid portion of the building.
Upon approval, the supermarket will be named Super FL Market. Minimal work will be done to the exterior and interior of the property. About 90 percent of the layout will be the same, with only a few changes to the floor, shelves, a fresh coat of paint and a few new refrigerators.
The focus of the supermarket will be traditional dry foods and brand-named items. With an emphasis on seafood, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits, the store will cater to every population.
“If we can’t cater to the community, we will go out of business,” Zhang said.
Trustee Dennis Walsh stated that King Kullen had union workers, something Super FL Market will not have. Zhang stated he projects to employ 75 to 100 local employees. “We can help the economy of Mineola,” Zhang said.
Pereira said he has heard from a number of residents about the need for a supermarket in that part of Mineola.
“We were looking around this area for a very long time, and we tried to rent it a few years ago but we never got to the right point,” Zhang said.
Deliveries will be made between 7:30 a.m. to noon. Walsh expressed his concern for the removal of garbage, cardboard and spoiled food that would be stored outside on the loading dock ramp on Sagamore Avenue. Meixia Huang said, “we will do garbage removal twice a week,” adding that “it will increase if we need increased garbage pickup.”
Walsh expressed concern that noise from nightly garbage pickup might be disturbing for local residents. Zhang responded, “Crown Waste is right next to us, so we could always work out special details with them.”
The supermarket application caused some concern within the audience of local residents. Joe Grillo, a Mineola resident, expressed his concern of the removal and pickup of trash, especially the fish and meat products. Zhang responded by saying, “I will make it my personal promise to take care of the garbage and schedule it two times a week or three times a week.”
Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss and the board reserved decision on the application in order to review the information that was presented to them.
