The Morton Williams at 155 West 68th Street will be opening on January 26.
The latest branch of the family-run supermarket has been under construction since 2022 (it was originally expected to open during the fall of 2023). It’s unclear if there were multiple reasons for the delay, but when asked about a concrete opening date back in 2022, owner Avi Kaner told us “The issue is that we have ordered all the equipment, but due to supply shortages, we do not know exactly when everything will arrive.”
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Kaner tells us the store held a test opening in late December that went very well, saying “Everyone really enjoyed it.”
This Morton Williams joins 14 other stores in Manhattan, two of which are in the area: 917 Ninth Ave (between 58th and 59th streets) and 15 West End Avenue (between 59th and 60th streets).
The new store is located across the street from a site that once held another supermarket, the Food Emporium, which closed back in 2013. That Food Emporium was eventually replaced by a Loews which vacated the premises in 2018. That prompted a petition created by Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal advocating for a new supermarket in the empty space.
While that space still remains vacant, Upper West Siders still got their supermarket, and it’s a large one, taking up the entire side of the street.
But according to Kaner, that doesn’t mean customers will have a hard time finding their way around.He tells us “The store is laid out in a very easy-to-shop manner that will be a pleasure for customers.”
Which is good, he added, because Morton Williams offers a ton of variety.
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“We have a wide array of specialty and international items,” he said, specifically noting, “We are proud to have a significant amount of space dedicated to products imported from Israel. That’s very important to us and the community we serve.”
It may have been a two-year wait, but now that it’s over, the new Morton Williams is here to stay.
“We signed a long-term lease of at least thirty years and we look forward to becoming part of the fabric of the Upper West Community that we love so much.”
The New Morton Williams at 155 West 68th Street will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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