Low-Cost Groceries by Mamdani: What Could Go Wrong?

The average cost to open a private grocery store ranges between one and three million dollars. Zohran Mamdani's government-run fiasco will cost about $30 million. The store will be approximately 20,000 square feet, not that large by industry standards.

For example, close to where I live, there are two Publix supermarkets within a mile of each other. One is around 39,000 square feet, and the other is between 45,000 and 49,000 square feet. Neither cost anywhere near $30 million dollars to open.

Mamdani intends to build five of these mistakes, one located in each borough of the city. The Marxist thinking here is that the government will be able to stock and supply the stores and charge less than other local markets.

Talk about your pipe dreams. When has the government ever done something that costs less than a private option? Another issue is what these stores will supply. Private stores survive and thrive by providing a wide variety of high-quality products. A government-run store will not be geared toward appeasing the public, no matter what Mamdani promises. It will be stocked with things that the government thinks you need.

Some worry that it will chip away at the business of other local markets. Personally, I don’t see that as being a consistent problem. Will certain products be affected? Probably, but only temporarily. These Marxist mirages never turn out to be what they are sold to the public to be. They are nothing more than a waste of time and money. What Mamdani will ultimately end up selling is disappointment.

As an example, here is the result of a similar store that opened in Kansas City.

To prove a theory, you have to run the real-world test.

This is socialism in America.

Kansas City dumped tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into a heavily subsidized “community” grocery store to fix the food desert and give everyone what they wanted.

The result? Empty… pic.twitter.com/4CZtujlJYP

— CURE (@CUREpolicy) April 17, 2026

Still, the pomp and circumstance come first. Yesterday, Mamdani, in all of his narcissistic glory, announced that the second site in the Bronx had been chosen. While this is the second location announced, according to New York’s chief comrade, it will be the first to open.

"Today, my friends, I am so proud to announce that the Bronx location will be here at the peninsula. And New Yorkers will not need to wait long for costs to drop. This store will be the first of the five city-run grocery stores to open."

"Bronx residents will be able to begin shopping here next year. It is going to be a 20,000-square-foot location, and its ambition is perfectly placed at the peninsula, which will house 740 units of 100 percent affordable housing by the time that it's fully built.”

Referencing a former juvenile detention facility, where the store will be located, Mamdani said:

“This was a place of failure, where young, predominantly low-income New Yorkers were subjected to brutal physical conditions, human rights violations, and physical abuse. We are reclaiming that same site to tell a very different story. This store and the peninsula as a whole will serve as physical proof of our conviction that government can be a force for good, that government can drive change that improves people's lives.”

While up on his soapbox, Mamdani even took a shot at former President Ronald Reagan.

"And standing here this morning, I cannot help but think of the words of our 40th president, Ronald Reagan. He famously said, " The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.' It's a good quote, but I disagree," he said. "I think nine more terrifying words are actually, 'I worked all day and can't feed my family.' We are going to use the power of government to lower prices and make it easier for New Yorkers to put food on the table. When government understands its purpose as serving the very working people that it has left behind time and again, it can make a difference."

Mamdani made promises that he has no hope of keeping. These stores will ultimately fail, but he will continue with these disasters because he painted himself into a corner. Mamdani is a socialist/communist, and he is desperate to show that it will work in America. The problem is that it will not; history has proven that fact over and over again. Now the people of New York will be forced to experience Mamdani’s nightmare.

Daniel Di Martino, an economist and fellow at the Manhattan Institute, who grew up under socialist rule in Venezuela, stated that instead of helping New Yorkers, these government-run grocery stores are merely a waste of time and money.

I went to the location where Mamdani aims to open a government-owned grocery store in New York City.

Here's what it looks like and my take ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mVGBfseMXl

— Daniel Di Martino (@DanielDiMartino) April 27, 2026

Well, New York, you voted for this nonsense, and apparently, next year, you are going to get your first glimpse of how a government-run food outlet operates. Besides early public-relations videos, do you think Mamdani will ever shop at one of these locations?

No chance, he’s building these for the hard-working Americans that he views as peasants.

Milt spent thirty years as a sales and operations manager for an international manufacturing company. He is also a four-time published author on a variety of subjects. Now, he spends most of his time researching and writing about conservative politics and liberal folly.