Open 2 Years, ShopRite Scores High With Inspectors, Locals

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ShopRite came to Commack, and locals applauded. Now it seems state inspectors have had a similar experience in the community's newest supermarket.

In the two inspections the market has had since its opening, workers from the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets have found few things to take issue with. On December 21, 2012, days before its January 2011 opening, inspectors found four general deficiencies, which are violations not deemed health risks. They included having a gap greater than a quarter of an inch in rear doors and not having a hand drying device. Two years later, inspectors returned, this time finding five general deficiencies including a small amount of dried milk in the walk-in cooler floor and having a knife stored between the counter and a display unit.

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Patch has accessed the data as part of a region-wide project culling together information on grocery store inspections across New York state to create an exclusive interactive map.

While ShopRite was among the least-cited markets in town, Commack in general fared very well in the reports. None of the 37 markets we pulled data for in Commack failed inspection in 2012. It takes one critical deficiency, violations considered health hazards, for a market to fail.

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We asked locals in our Facebook following what they think about ShopRite, or if their opinion of the market has waned since it opened to much fanfare two years ago.

"The store is great – clean and wonderful service. Before it opened there was no place in the area where you could do all your shopping for the Jewish holidays," said Missy Katz Kreinces.

Pamela Vasilopoulos Roussos, agreed. "I was a very loyal Pathmark shopper and was very upset when they closed. I am now a very loyal ShopRite customer, it's the only place I shop! The store is sparkling clean, always well stocked, friendly staff and never long lines," she said.

In fact, the few complaints we heard had to do with parking at the store, and not the operations within the market walls.

That, and one woman said she bought a stale cookie.

While it may make sense for a relatively new market to have fewer general deficiencies – common violations at older stores include dust buildup, rusty selves and other issues that come from years of wear and tear – that isn't always the case. The Uncle Giuseppe's supermarket in Port Jefferson Station opened a few months before the Commack ShopRite, and that store has failed three out of four of its insoections.