Whole Foods Or Key Food: Which Is NYC's Worst Grocery Store?

NEW YORK CITY — Imagine waiting in an endless line with someone’s cart, filled to the brim with $8,000 in kale juice, rammed into your back. Picture long, dusty shelves that hold only four cans of expired Spam and a surly, one-eyed cat. Smell the rotting lettuce, sweat and disinfectant.

It’s New York City’s worst grocery store. You know it, you’ve lived it. Where is it?

Patch is conducting its own local take on March Madness and we want you to help us figure out which is the worst grocery store in New York City. Every week, we’ll release a new poll in four different terrible grocery store categories:

First, Whole Foods, Citarella, Dean & Deluca and Zabar’s will vie for the title of worst high-end grocery store.

Then Trader Joe’s, Fairway Market, Costco and Food Bazaar will compete to be named worst “discount” grocery store.

Key Food, Gristedes, C-Town and Met Food will fight for the worst chain grocery store title on week three.

And finally, Peapod, FreshDirect, Jet and Amazon Fresh will battle to be named worst online grocery store.

The winners of each mini-contest will then take on each other in our final worst grocery store in New York City competition in April. The store named Worst In The City will win the honor of nothing.

So stay tuned in and be ready to fight for your champion. We release round one — Whole Foods vs. Citarella vs. Dean & Deluca vs. Zabar’s — on Monday, March 12.

Photo of Whole Foods courtesy of Nicholas Rizzi, photos of Food Bazaar and Key Food courtesy of GoogleMaps, and photo of Peapod truck courtesy of Giant Foods