It was Oct. 22, 2010, that Arverne By The Sea’s Stop & Shop supermarket first opened its doors to the general public, welcoming locals from all over the peninsula to the 55,000-square-foot store located at 70-20 Rockaway Beach Blvd.
This past week, Stop & Shop, which has developed into an Arverne By The Sea staple, officially celebrated both 15 years in business and 15 years of fulfilling a longtime promise to those who bought into the vision of Benjamin Development and The Beechwood Organization over two decades ago.
As the Arverne By The Sea project, a joint proposal by Benjamin/Beechwood LLC, started to take shape in the early 2000s, one of the early promises developers included in the plans was a supermarket that would provide residents with access to fresh produce and other groceries.
In October 2010, a little over eight years since the project broke ground, the Stop & Shop supermarket finally came to fruition with a celebratory grand opening that included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Stop & Shop District Manager Tony Armellino and Store Manager Vito Orlando. Also present for the big moment were Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, NYS State Senator Malcolm Smith, NYS Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, and NYC Councilman James Sanders Jr., who all remarked on the progress.
As the day continued, Boar’s Head Provisions was on hand serving hot dogs, hosting activities for children, and giving out free prizes, and a live band played in front of the supermarket’s in-store pharmacy for a few hours. Representatives from the store’s full-service Citizens Bank were also on site to talk to locals.
With the opening of Stop & Shop, the Arverne By The Sea development inched one step closer in its evolution from idea to reality.
“[This] is the first tangible infrastructure benefit that Arverne by the Sea has been able to provide, after promises of new roads, a school, a supermarket, new stores and a YMCA,” The Wave chronicled in 2010. “Now, we have the supermarket and the YMCA has received the blessing of the mayor and can start construction in earnest before the snow flies.”
Then-Wave Editor Kevin Boyle also chimed in on the early success of the new supermarket.
“The debut of the Stop And Shop was like the World’s Fair opening,” Boyle wrote in his “Boyle-ing Points” column. “Place was packed. Build it and they will come or discount Frosted Flakes and they will flock,” he continued.
Following this momentous occasion, however, Stop & Shop quickly faced some challenges, as rumors began to circulate that the supermarket was “unsafe” and a frequent hotspot for robberies, something Arverne By The Sea CEO Gerry Romski was quick to dispel.
“With all the security inside and outside the store, Stop & Shop, Beach 73 Street is probably one of the safest places in Rockaway,” Romski told The Wave at the time. “It’s tough to fight the rumors that the store and the area are dangerous, but we have to try,” he continued. “It is safe to shop there, and there have been no incidents of either theft or assault at the supermarket.”
Despite this early challenge, Stop & Shop has continued to progress as the years have gone by, with multiple events, community partnerships, and even a new look that came in 2022 courtesy of the company’s remodel program.
From that point on, Stop & Shop has enjoyed an expanded produce assortment “offering more ways to eat healthy;” an expanded deli assortment with a hot foods bar; remodeled meat and seafood departments; expanded bakery, frozen, and dairy product offerings; and two new convertible checkout lanes “for an even more efficient checkout.”
Congratulations, Stop & Shop!