Posted to Crown Heights News on

After standing empty for nearly three years tomorrow it reopens completely revamped and renovated under the name 'The Marketplace'. Owner Itzik Benabou said that he hopes to be open by 2:00pm Tuesday, he and his workers will be preparing throughout the night.

‘The Marketplace’ Prepares for Tuesday Opening

After standing empty for nearly three years tomorrow it reopens completely revamped and renovated under the name ‘The Marketplace’. Owner Itzik Benabou said that he hopes to be open by 2:00pm Tuesday, he and his workers will be preparing throughout the night.

In July of 2009 Shloime Ifergan, the former owner of ‘The Shuk’, was forced to sell due to circumstances that were beyond his control, Benabou stepped in and bought the store.

The new Marketplace boasts bright, clean and wide aisles, a larger produce section, on-premises bakery, deli counter and full kitchen.

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42 Comments

  • Trader Joes like

    Beautiful, looks nice and clean. Let’s just hope the prices won’t be rediculously high.

  • hungry!

    Iztik, one word of advice. Offer great customer service. Something Empire Koshe did not have. Therefore, I like many other’s shopped elsewhere.
    Hatzlacha Rabba!!!

  • The Market Place That-s a long name

    While i love everything about this place. There is one thing that I cant get past. The name. It has not ring to it.

    Think of popular Super Market names such as: Ralph’s, Krogers, Wild Oat, Whole Foods, Pomogranate, QFC, Citarella. Now “The Market Place”. sorry the name does not slide off the tongue. There are those things that corporate branding firms do well, and it’s obvious that someone with out any such experience chose this name.

    Perhaps the name will be abbreviate by the public to one of the following: Marketplace, Itziks’, Baby Pom, The Market…

    Itzick it’s never to late….lose your pride and change the name.

    Angry citizen.

  • hatzlocho

    the Shuk was a great name, why not stick to that? “the marketplace” seems to be more like a balagan of a market of the old shtetel, not this renovated big supermarket.

    We yiddelech have so much variety and we eat so much!

    Be matzliach

  • more advice and questions

    Have the workers dress and talk in a tznius way .Hire more Jewish workers and give them good wages.Is Empire Kosher closing? Will there be parking?

  • Admirable

    Yageiti umatsasi Tamin!
    Where there’s a will there’s a way.
    The new cashier at Kol Tuv could train the entire management in customer service! What a mentch. He even smiles!!

  • to # 1

    Most of CH pay with food stamps so they will not be checking the prices, and the rich couldnt care less so its the hard working middle class that will get hurt with these prices,

  • BR3

    in this matzav of alot of people in hard financial situations, it would be fair and kind to offer a store which offers bargains. I hope there will be bargains there.

  • Suggestions

    Looks fantastic!!
    However, need lots of parking. Big problem at EK!
    Also sure would be nice to give some of the unemployed in CH a job-not just the goyim!

  • Looks great but why no local workers???

    Looks amazing and i would love to shop there but unfortunately i have principles and since Itzik does not hire any local/lubavitcher workers I will have to pass!

    Seriously at least 10 lubavitch/local familes could have a parnossah from jobs here, why does he keep outsourcing and using other people, im sure they are great but we have plenty talent and capable people right here under his nose – whats the deal with him?

    • Anonymous

      I just noticed our response. Maybe YOU should walk in there, before you start giving criticism. As there are quite a number of people who do work there and live in crown heights. In addition, although it may look very simple to just scan a number of items onto the register, as well as provide costumer service and stock the shelves, there is more that goes into this. People with vast food and grocery knowledge is what it takes to run a successful supermarket.

  • what about PARKING?

    place looks amazing and tantelizing. can’t wait to shop there but, where am I gonna park?

  • Chaim

    BY the time CROWN HEIGHTS residents walk in there it will look like all the other stores in CH!!!
    And very nice for crown heights but that’s a regular store and theirs even nicer out there……..
    but awesome i idea wish you lots of LUCK!

  • benny

    to #7……….. Common your getting hyped over a name?!??!
    to add to your list…. Publix,Greenwise

  • question

    Great job providing a beautiful store for ch… You dare about the community in a tremendous ways.. .
    Could you not find cashiers, credit card processors, bakery managers…..in ch too? That you hire wonderful yidden from surounding communities?

  • very interesting

    posted a comment on “another site” about this store being really nice and all but went on to mention why doesnt he hire C.H./Lubavitch staff and give them parnossah – for some reason they didnt post it, I wonder how many other comments like this they block?

    freedom of speech – yeah right….Go Crownheights.info!

  • ch

    price is one of the most important reason why people do not shop in CH and go to BP or other places. If Itzik put unbeatable prices then ppl from all over Brooklyn will come to his store, otherwise with high prices he’ll get only 1/3 of CH who has no choice but shop there.

  • LONG TIME CROWN HEIGHTS RESIDENT

    HATZLACHA RABBA GREAT TO SEE A AMBITIOUS YOUNG MAN BRINGING LIFE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AGAIN KOL TUV. REMEMBER GOING ELSEWHERE GAS IS EXPENSIV AND GETTING A PARKINGTICKET IF YOU CANNOT PARK PROPERLY AGAIN HATZLACHA RABBA.

  • Sara

    #12 is SO correct! A Really pleasant guy!
    #7 The name is fine. It has the same amount of syllables as Pomegranate, and you’ll get used to it, too.

    Good Luck, Itzik! I just hope we don’t have to lose Empire Kosher when you open this new store; EK has a convenient location.
    And there just HAS to be parking….

  • Mathew/Matisyahu Miller

    you can go to any beautiful store even nicer then this!! the most amazing part is.. its Nice and everything is KOSHER!

  • Ben

    To all you commenting about no lubavitch workers: All the people you see in the photos are working with a company called the supermarket maven, they are just there to jumpstart the place.

  • to number 18

    People like you are his problem. He doesn’t want to have to pay extra for a religious person who will want more pay and take of more days than his current workers. Lets face it Jewish people need a lot of time off, for holidays and such. However, he does have Jewish people in his stores, all the managers are Jewish (Lubavitcher, asides from glicks which he outsources to BP) Realistically, no Lubavitcher would get paid how much he is willing to pay just to stock shelves.
    There is no reason to leave rude comments when someone is doing something nice for the CH community. If you don’t want to shop there then don’t. If you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all.
    Thank you Mr. Benabou, we appreciate your hard work.

    Sincerely,
    The people who will be shopping in your stores.

  • CH shopper

    Several CH stores are run by non-Lubavitchers or by Lubavitchers who are not CH residents. Many CH businesses hire non-Jews and non-Lubavitchers. I don’t see a reason to boycott a store that is convenient and has kosher merchandise, even if it is non-Jewish totally such as Family Dollar. Is Happy Cleaners Jewish? It looks like it is owned by Chinese but it is located on Kingston and is convenient for many Jewish customers. I think that it is wonderful that CH has a roomy, well stocked store, regardless of who owns it or works there. For all we know, no Lubavitchers applied for the job.

  • Hoping for pleasant shopping experience

    The main point about the employees (heimish, local; managers and cashiers and packers….. could they ALL undertake some personnel training and be encouraged to be pleasant and courteous to customers and occasionally smile too :-)??
    Hatzlacha Rabba to all concerned.

  • to #14

    To #14 you are very right. only us middle class has to look in shopping cart of food stamp payers and say ahhhhhhhh look how lucky they are.

  • MaidofCH

    So many kosher markets on Kingston going east. Why aren’t there any on New York or Nostrand? Some of us live around there, you know. It’s a major production for me to go to Kingston all the time.

  • Chaya Fiengold

    There will be valet parking like in the kollel stores
    Very looking forward. Lots of success!

  • I KNOW THE REASON!!!

    I KNOW THE REASON WHY THEY OPENED THE MARKETPLACE, IT IS BECAUSE EMPIRE KOSHER IS CLOSING DOWN. THEY ARE GOING TO BUILD CONDOS WHERE EMPIRE KOSHER IS NOW. WHEN IS EMPIRE KOSHER CLOSING DOWN ? IN HOW LONG ? MAYBE ITZIK SHOULD BECOME THE NEXT LUBAVITCHER REBBE, HE IS ANYWAY TAKING OVER THE WHOLE CROWN HEIGHTS !!!!!