Save the Fifth Avenue Key Food is an advocacy group that has been formed to funnel ideas and to foster community dialogue around the potential loss of the Fifth Avenue Key Food to mixed use and commercial development. Our goal is to retain a diverse, community-oriented grocery store within the redevelopment plan. Since the 1980s, when the construction of the Fifth Avenue Key Food was seen as a way to revitalize the North Slope, this store has:
Provided affordable food;
Created jobs for working class people;
Eased street congestion usually associated with urban grocery stores, by providing off-street truck unloading and ample parking for delivery vehicles;
Found a balance between those who require affordable groceries and the expanding upper middle class;
Made a center for working-class families to buy high quality fresh vegetables and reasonably-priced staples;
Supplied a place for large families and those who choose not to shop at wholesale clubs to make bulk purchases because of parking;
Served local residents, those who are employed in the neighborhood, and local businesses who need to supplement their wholesale purchases;
Marketed fresh groceries for cooking as more and more Bodegas and corner stores have disappeared and been replaced by bars and restaurants
The Fifth Avenue Key Food has been loved for decades -- by those in the neighborhood and beyond -- because of their loyalty and service to their customers, the size of the store, its cleanliness and organization, great music, and the cheerful environment it has always created, especially around the holidays.
Dedicated customers tell stories about how store managers (Delio and Bob come to mind) always customized the store to serve the changing needs of the neighborhood and that this store represents not simply a retail grocery but a vital source of community in the North Slope.