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Mamdani's Government-Run Grocery Store Plan Gets Even Worse

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  April 15, 2026 7:30 AM

Zohran Mamdani ran on a platform of creating a government-run grocery store in each of the five boroughs. It's a plan that won't work, because government grocery stores always fail wherever they're tried. In New York, there are millions in each borough who won't be served by one singular store.

Yesterday, Mamdani said the first store would open next year, but now there are reports that the first store might not open for three years.

La Marqueta is already owned by the city, and for $30 million, Mamdani is going to finally turn it into a government-run store in 2029. There are also several stores within walking distance of it.

$30 million is a lot of money to provide "cheaper" groceries, too.

Bodega owners warned that Mamdani's plan would put them out of business. We expect the same thing applies to these stores, too.

And that makes it even more problematic for New Yorkers. The government-run stores he's promised won't lower prices on everything, but will only lower prices on a select "basket of goods."

Here's more:

Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted Tuesday that the promised lower prices at his city-owned grocery stores will only be guaranteed for a core set of everyday staples.

Items in those so-called baskets of goods have yet to be decided, but likely include essentials such as bread, milk and eggs, officials said.

Beyond those essentials, the stores will also sell other foodstuffs and items. Officials said they’ll aim to make those items low-cost as well, but may not always be able to achieve the perpetual discount.

“When it comes to the products that we will be selling at the city-run grocery stores, there will be an essential basket of goods that will be guaranteed a cheaper price, and cheaper than what they’re being sold at currently,” Mamdani said during a news conference at La Marqueta in Harlem.

The already city-owned La Marqueta was the first location revealed to host Mamdani’s socialist pet grocery project, but he said Tuesday the actual store – which carries a whopping $30 million expected price tag – won’t open until 2029.

Other yet-to-be-decided municipal grocery stores will open before then, with the first expected to greet shoppers in late 2027, officials said.

So he's creating literal bread lines.

Communism ends with empty shelves and starving people. 

New York will be no different.

He keeps moving the goalposts.

And he will blame Donald Trump, Republicans, capitalism, and rich New Yorkers for its failure.

Yet they keep telling us real communism has never been tried.

In Kansas City, that's exactly what happened to its government-run grocery store. The shelves were empty, shoplifters had a field day, and what food was there was often rotten.