By Scott Etkin
Morton Williams Supermarket, a family-owned and operated chain of grocery stores, is opening on Broadway from West 68th to 69th streets on Friday, January 26th. The new Morton Williams will take up the full west side of the block when it opens later this month, a company representative confirmed to West Side Rag — making it one of the largest supermarkets in the neighborhood.
News about this market broke in June 2022. This development followed years of advocacy – including a petition posted by Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal – to bring a supermarket to the West 60s after a nearby Food Emporium closed in 2013. The former Food Emporium space, which is located across the avenue from the new Morton Williams, later became a Lowe’s that closed in 2018. The space remains empty.
The hours listed on the company’s website for the new Morton Williams are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Morton Williams was founded in 1946 and has more than a dozen markets in Manhattan. There are two existing Morton Williams stores bordering the Upper West Side on 9th Avenue between West 58th and 59th streets, and West End Avenue between West 59th and 60th streets.
(Thanks to Jennifer, Harriet, and Gretchen for the tips.)
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Morton Williams is a decent, affordable grocery storage to judge from the location at 23rd and 2nd Avenue I often shopped at until my move uptown a few years ago. It’s not going to attract any foodies from the UWS gourmet meccas, however. They offer lots of special prices but the registers frequently weren’t programmed right, so shoppers should keep an eye on the scanned prices and be prepared to step up to make corrections.
AFFORDABLE – ARE YOU KIDDING? I have never been in any Morton Williams that is affordable!! Yes, they do have nice merchandise, but the prices are sky high!! I would never shop at a Morton Williams. I will take Trader Joe’s any day!!!
“Affordable?” In what world is Morton Williams affordable? If their prices at the location on 87th and Madison is any indication, they are anything BUT affordable.
Checkout scanners that fail to register correct sale prices are a scourge of NYC grocery stores. Because it always benefits the store, there is very little incentive for managers to fix this problem.
It’s also worth noting that I rarely encounter misprogrammed checkouts at stores outside the NYC area — I suspect that skimming some extra money from customers has become part of the business model for stores here.
I’m always at a loss when I hear this complaint. Don’t people pay attention to what they’re being charged? I always doublecheck restaurant checks and watch scanned prices. And if I buy a hot dog at a street stand, I always ask the price first – they’re never posted and I’ve learned that some vendors take advantage of that. If you don’t watch out for yourself, no one else will.
I mean, yes, clearly I pay attention because I notice the wrong price. And then I have the cashier fix the price. But it is often a hassle to get corrected — they have to send someone to check the shelf price, thumb through the circular, call over a manager to override the register, etc. — and it should not happen in the first place.
Just because another customer might not have time to dispute the price or might not notice the discrepancy doesn’t make it okay to overcharge them.
In CT which has better consumer protection laws, if a price scans incorrectly, you get the item for free. I often ended up with free items when the sale price had not been programmed into the store’s computer. If I had more time, I would lobby our elected officials to get stronger consumer protection laws on the books for NYC. I am amazed that your laws are so weak with no real teeth in them.
The Morton Williams on West End and 60th is very overpriced. Items are typically $3 more than Fairway.
The vegetables and fruits are one day to spoiling or already visibly rotting on the stand. Cut an apple or tomato in half the same night purchased and it’s rotting inside. The meat and pork are good quality. The chicken is Purdue or lesser quality. No Murray’s chicken.
I sincerely hope the new Mortons coming to Broadway is better quality and more reasonably priced.
shockingly, often the lower priced less bougie markets have better produce because they turn over produce and food faster then expensive markets.
Go to Fairway!
Fairway is also way overpriced. Do the homework!
Good news. I just hope I can open a home equity line of credit in time. Seriously, I have found one of the best barometers of competitive pricing: Driscoll’s strawberries. Everybody carries them and I haven’t found anyplace as expensive as MW.
Try Butterfield Market, not so pretty prices
Do we not count the Morton Williams at 115th and Broadway (Morningside) as UWS?
Does anyone know why it took this Morton Williams so long to open? It sat, almost finoshed, for months and months.
It’s nice to have options and variety, not to mention convenience if time or weather conditions affect your shopping plans. Welcome to the neighborhood, Morty!
Wondering if there will be any price competition between mw, g.garage and jubilee and Brooklyn fare or will they all coordinate w higher prices.
Anybody have the code book to translate this into English?
Morton Williams, Gourmet Garage, Jubilee Market – three supermarkets between 66-68th, Broadway – Freedom Place (street behind Lincoln Towers, between West End and Riverside South). The last two are already pricey. It would be great to see some competition price-wise from Morton Williams. I’m not holding my breath. Pricey area, north of Columbus Circle Whole Foods (59th). Trader Joe’s (72nd), Pioneer (74th/Col) and Fairway (74th/Bway) are the respite as you head north. I know someone who lives on 53rd and 8th who comes up to 72nd for basics at TJ.
Great about Morton Williams.
So- When is H Mart opening?
Shinbash 72 locates a few block away. Although spicy kimchi won’t be there.
Shinbashi 72 is great! Have been going there in the absence of HMart
Beware: The last time I was in Morton Williams on 115th and Broadway, the cashier charged me $35 for a bag of carrots. When I pointed out the error, she replied: “It’s correct. That’s how the register scanned the price. “ I foolishly asked her whether she thought that $35 was a high price for a bag of carrots. She shrugged and said that she wouldn’t know because she didn’t eat carrots.
That, regrettably, was not the first time I had been overcharged at MW because of a faulty price scan. But it definitely will be the last
People used to say, ‘smart as a carrot’. Perhaps she should make them part of her diet.
Why are my fellow West Siders being such grumps?! It is with relief that I look forward to an alternative to Fairway, which is dirty and largely awful, after several decades of its being a destination for high quality fresh fruit and vegetables ( which now grow penicillin-like mold). Trader Joe’s is great but is underground, hard to navigate, and only carries its own brand. Morton, don’t pay any attention to these gripes. People are always quick to complain and rarely take the time to praise.
A few years ago I started shopping at Morton Williams on Madison & 87th on my way home from work (just a block away from the 86th SBS). I never liked shopping at Fairway and I was too exhausted at the end of the day to deal with it. That particular MW is clean and well organized, it has wide aisles and fully stocked shelves, the prices and quality of produce are comparable to anywhere else. A happy neighborhood and happy clientele. I think it all comes down to management and how they interact with their customers.
… and also comes down to the neighborhood. With our incessant flow of homeless stealing food the markets can’t be as friendly. Everything is cleaner and civilized on UES.
And no, please don’t tell me to move. I want UWS be nicer which is normal. Denying the issues we are experiencing is not.
I’m on holiday in Honduras and Guatemala and the four grocery stores I’ve been to in the capitals Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City have had great selections, are immaculately clean, and nothing is under lock and key. Why can’t we have nice things?
Why would I tell anyone to move? I’m fully aware of the problems on the UWS and I posted a positive review of Morton Williams in response to the negative comments about a store that hasn’t even opened yet. There’s absolutely no reason that the new MW on Broadway and 68th can’t be run the same way as the one on Madison. And that would be a NICER addition to the neighborhood.
I apologize, I didn’t mean you personally. I meant “those who might suggest that I move”
I completely agree with you that MW is a nice addition to the neighborhood
Thank you for the follow up. I understand your frustration! I hope the new store will work out and be a shining example to other grocery stores to step up their game. : )
Now when are we going to get an actual supermarket on Broadway in the W80s? Key Food is not acceptable, old vegetables in packages, exactly four organic veggies (2 lettuces) and no fruit, cheap commercial brands, surly unhelpful staff.
Zabar’s doesn’t count?
Zabar’s is a specialty market. They’re good for some things but I’d hardly think they’re best place for weekly family grocery shopping.
I wouldn’t say Morton Williams is reasonably priced compared to Fairway and Trader Joe’s, though it would win, hands down, compared to the D’Agostino’s on Lexington and 77th Street, which is priced as though it sold gourmet food only.
Still, Morton Williams does have both good sales and items I can’t find elsewhere; namely, individual Friendly’s ice cream sundaes. They sell those in their 72nd & Third Avenue location, though not in some UWS locations. The Morton Williams on Madison and 87th also has a counter for eating in; I hope the new location has something similar along with those individual ice cream sundaes.
Looking forward to my virgin walk along those well-stocked food aisles.
That DAG on Lexington at 76th like one further north at 84th has a captive market. There aren’t supermarkets on Madison, Park, or Fifth avenues below 86th street.
Granted DAG at 76th and Lexington does have some competition if people are willing to walk over to Gristedes on Third at 77th, but since Red Apple Group owns both stores there isn’t much of a difference nowadays.
Morton Williams new store at 72nd and Third is nice, small and cramped, but nice. There again it wins by default since there’s nothing else in area unless you walk down to 1066 Third or up to Gristedes at 77th.
During Covid, when people were standing in long lines, 6 feet apart, wearing masks outside of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to fight over the last roll of toilet paper or purchase their limited 2 packages of pasta… I found myself wandering around and wound up at the Morton Williams over by west end. I guess it was fairly new at the time. I will never forget the experience of walking into an almost empty store. Empty of humans, but not products… the shelves were stocked. There was plenty of toilet paper and paper towels. The store was glistening clean. There was no limit on pasta. They even had bins of masks available at the time when it was impossible to find them. I felt like I was in an episode of the twilight zone- ever since then my impression of Morton Williams has been dream like.! I look forward to this new one
I am sure that Trader Joe’s can handle the competition. As of late Fairways supermarket has made efforts to compete with Trader Joe’s. It is to be seen whether Morton Williams can establish a niche for themselves.
As to Akismet it tries to reduce spam but also goes downhill as it limits posts because of political correctness.
The MW near East 72nd on 2nd Ave., I believe, is outrageously expensive!! I’ll never go there again. I can’t believe that after losing that Meat mkt. on 62nd, replaced with so-so Brooklyn Fare, which is no bargains,, yet another Morton Williams.
. I guess I’ll have to buy in bulk at TJ’s bc of lines, or contend with always having to check the price on each and every item at Fairway.
Every grocery store has its own culture and chemistry, even those that belong to the same chain. I’ve always had good luck at the Morton Williams on West End Ave. at 60th St. The deli staff is very attentive and helpful. The fruits and vegetables are usually fine, also the meats. The floor staff is particularly good — when you ask for help to locate an item, they put down what they are doing and take you over to the item. You don’t get that at Fairway. Dairy products are always fresh. You can check out with a real cashier; all of them speak good English. No self-checkout, where you have to wrestle with bags, items, scanners, product codes, card readers! (Don’t you wish you had three arms?!) I have been to this store dozens of times and am glad it’s there.
Self check-out is the greatest thing that has happened to food shopping in a long time. Drug stores like CVS too. I don’t think I’ve gone through a register with a human scanning my purchase at a food or drug store in three years.
It’s great about Morton Williams but
does anyone know when HMart will open?
Everyone complaining about prices seems to have forgotten oft quoted advice from our mothers or grandmothers; you have to “know the price of a loaf of bread”.
Grocery shopping in Manhattan like many other urban areas long as been about knowing prices so one can compare and decide if one is getting value for money.
You also have to read weekly sale circulars and or otherwise look out for special deals.
Of course those with access to motor vehicles can take a page from those that do and do their grocery shopping in NJ, LI, Conn or Westchester. There are reasons why you see people with loads of groceries when they are coming back into town from the country.
High prices for groceries in NYC (especially Manhattan) are a direct reflection of high CODB including rent and labor.
I would love to see a Shop Rite or a Stop and Shop in the Upper West Side. But, I suspect the ultra liberals would not allow them, just like they will not allow a Walmart in Manhattan. C’est La Vie !!!!!
A few years ago, WSR had a data scientist who showed a diagram of basic grocery items per supermarket: milk egg bread broccoli… by Fairway WholeFoods TraderJoe… That was helpful!
https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/01/23/frugal-frannies-back-with-a-new-supermarket-price-check-upper-upper-west-side-edition
Can someone create the same way?
Wasn’t a H Mart coming to 70th or 71st street too?
Right now between 69th and 70st street broardway is scaffolding, occupied with homeless belongings next to CityMD urgent care. No signs of H Mart.