Lidl Grocery Store Opens in Crown Heights

Lidl was crowded on opening day in Crown Heights when Brownstoner passed by. Known for its changing mix of gourmet items at affordable prices, the European chain now has four locations in Brooklyn.

This one, at 1730 Bedford Avenue close to Empire Boulevard, is in a new development with apartments above that replaced a 1936 Art Deco Streamline Moderne Firestone Auto Supply and Service Store not far from the former site of Ebbets Field.

On opening day on Wednesday, March 18, the coffee was free and croissants cost 49 cents. An arch of balloons in the store’s colors of red, blue, and yellow drew attention to the store’s entrance. As well as regular groceries and household items, there were spring gardening tools on offer and even some household plants.

The new cream brick building looks better than its renderings. It’s a modern and simple four-story box on the Empire Boulevard side, and seven stories with balconies on the Sullivan Place side.

Chipotle has also opened in the building, and the office space is still up for lease, according to a sign in the window. The Lidl store will be open daily from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Other nearby groceries include Western Beef Supermarket on Empire Boulevard, also known for low prices, Lincoln Market near Flatbush in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Union Market on Bedford in north Crown Heights.

The Art Deco service station’s streamlined curves and prominent signage dominated the corner for decades, despite it being only one story.

[Photos by Susan De Vries]

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