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Mattituck Marketplace undergoes four-month renovation

For those seeking fresh seafood, a prepared meal or prime-cut meats, the Mattituck Marketplace is now the perfect place to grab all three.

Following a four-month renovation project that is nearing completion, the supermarket has added new departments and expanded on the offerings of the former Waldbaum’s.

“The store didn’t carry products full-time and part-time residents of the [North Fork] wanted,” said Richard Grobman, president of Dan’s Supreme Supermarkets — the chain that owns Mattituck Marketplace. “Those people, the customers and the non-customers, want more of a selection in organic and specialty in all departments: meat, produce, dairy and groceries throughout the store.”

Local seafood restaurant Buoy One, which has locations in Riverhead and Westhampton, will run the fresh fish and seafood department, said Mr. Grobman said.

Cooking will be done in-store to create prepared foods for shoppers to bring home and serve.

“More and more people are looking for more leisure time,” he said. “They’re not wanting to spend time in the kitchen, they want more prepared food to buy and put on the table. And they want fresh fish instead of the usual supermarket items. So we try to give them what we thought they would want.”

Buoy One general manager Denyse Baggot said the entire menu will be available at the supermarket and will feature clambakes, sushi and shrimp cocktail. The company has recently begun bottling glazes, sauces and seasonings, which will also be sold there.

“You can come in there and order what you’re gonna cook for dinner and order yourself a little snack to have while you keep shopping,” she said of the setup. “The fact that they can get the cooked food, I think that’s the most unique part about it.”

Ms. Baggot said this is the first supermarket Buoy One has partnered with. She said employees with Mattituck Marketplace had been sampling the food and approached the seafood market with the idea.

“We have a lot of people who come here from out there,” she said. “When we were in the store and I recognized so many of the customers, so maybe we’ll reach a further audience because now we’ll be further out east.”

Other departments at the supermarket, such as cheese and frozen foods, have expanded to include more offerings. The meat department will also offer more prime produce and a butcher will be available to prepare special cuts, Mr. Grobman said.

“The customers who have been shopping there love the changes so far,” he said. “They were obviously tired of a store looking like it had with Waldbaum’s. We’re trying to reach out to customers that used to shop there and customers that have never shopped there and let them know there’s now a store in Mattituck that should be a pleasure to shop in.”

Dan’s Supreme Supermarkets owns 10 supermarkets in the greater New York area, including stores in Manhattan, Westchester, Riverdale and Staten Island.

The company, a fourth-generation, family-run business, purchased the Mattituck location in November 2015 after the Waldbaum’s there was sold following the bankruptcy of parent company A&P.

A grand reopening is tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 9, pending completion of the renovations.

“We thought it was a good opportunity,” Mr. Grobman said of the purchase. “The store was run-down, the merchandise was run-down. So it was a good opportunity to go into a place not being run well knowing we have the ability to cater to the people who live in the area.”

Top photo caption: The poultry section of Mattituck Marketplace. (Credit: Nicole Smith)

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The outside of Mattituck Marketplace. (Credit: Nicole Smith)