New York City is set to enter the grocery business, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled plans for the city’s first government run supermarket, a $30 million project planned for East Harlem’s historic La Marqueta.

The store will be the first of five city owned grocery locations planned across all five boroughs, as part of a larger $70 million initiative to lower food prices by cutting out overhead costs like rent, property taxes, and profit margins.

The goal is simple, make essentials like bread, milk, and eggs more affordable for struggling families, particularly in neighborhoods like East Harlem, where food prices remain a serious concern. By operating the stores directly, the city hopes to create what Mamdani has described as a “public option” for groceries.

The plan is being criticized as a costly government overreach, warning that taxpayer-funded supermarkets are an inefficient, poorly managed, and ultimately unsustainable idea. Such ideas have historically failed in other parts of the US and in other countries, arguing that the private sector, despite its flaws and costs, is better equipped to handle food distribution at scale.

The East Harlem location will be built using city-owned space at La Marqueta, a once thriving public market that officials hope to revive as part of the project. When approved, the first store is expected to open by 2027, with all five locations projected to be operational by 2029.