Review of Bingo in Inwood

Bingo is a discount supermarket known as the kosher Costco. Previously, those who wanted to shop there had to brave Borough Park, Monsey, or Lakewood. But just last week, one opened on Burnside Avenue in Inwood where Stop & Shop used to be until it moved farther up Rockaway Turnpike a few years ago. The store just opened last week.

Today was a big day for the store, and the parking lot was just about full by the time we left. Here's my take on the experience and pricing.

People like the self-checkout as you shop option. However, to get it on the spot, there was a rather long lines that caused a bottleneck at the entrance. I had previously signed up for the loyalty card that was supposed to allow for that, but the store gives itself a lot of time to mail. Asking for it at the courtesy desk was useless, as the person wasn't interested in looking up the account. We ended up checking out with a cashier, but that's wasn't too bad. The people ahead of us weren't buy so much, and the line moved quickly.

The brand identity there is to associate low prices with no service. I wanted to buy the canola oil spray that was marked on sale but was cleared off the shelf. I asked someone unloading things in the aisle about it. She really didn't want to look into it and said they're probably out of it. Courtesy desk was no help with that either, and there was no visible manager to help out, despite the fact that the store just opened.

As for the pricing, as with stores like Aldi's, the cheapest options are their own products rather than national brands. So you could get a 2 lb bag of pasta for less than you'd pay for 2 pounds of Ronzoni or such, but that's not such a high ticket item in general. Brand name cereal cost more there than it does in stores that put it on sale.

Meat pricing: some things were put on special. But otherwise, I'd say the pricing was overall higher than KolSave's, though maybe somewhat lower than Gourmet Glatt's. We bought the 4-pack of white tuna fish for $5.99, which, honesty, I don't consider particularly cheap.

Produce pricing: not cheaper than Gourmet Glatt, except maybe bananas priced at 59 cents a lb. But you'd probably still come out ahead getting them at Trader Joe's for 19 cents a piece. And at Gourmet Glatt, people always ask for help in the produce section. I don't think anyone would tell you which melon will be ripe on Shabbos here.

Dairy: I was really surprised that it didn't offer better pricing on the cholov Yisroel products. Smart Milk was $2.89, Golden Flow was $3.00 or $3.09, so it doesn't beat KolSave pricing on that. I would have also expected the yogurts to be priced at about $1 a piece, the typical sale price at Kol Save and Gourmet Glatt, but that was not the case. Fresh & Heathy cottage cheese was a bit cheaper than at those store -- $3.29 there as opposed to $3.49. But sliced cheese was not a better price.

Bakery pricing: on par with Kol Save's.

Some things were priced a little lower like their rye bread at $3 for 2 lb. Strange absence of choice for hamburger buns. This story only offers a single brand -- Stern's -- for $3 for 6 buns. Other stores carry multiple brands and their own internal bakery versions. Also its bagels (not frozen kind) are not true bagels like the one available in other kosher stores and Trader's Joe's.

Bingo has loads of cakes in all price ranges, including some from an exceedingly pricey label that charges $20 for some tiny little things and $40 for a box of 9 little chocolates themed for a new baby or the like. It doesn't makes sense to include in a store like this. If you're going to shell out $20 for a tiny thing that looks like it serves 2 or 3 people, you'd probably want a more boutique shopping experience an would look for it at Oh Nuts! or Gourmet Glatt.

Flowers: I wasn't looking to buy them but wanted to know what they charges. They seem to charge the same as other kosher stores in the area do, which amounts to 2-3X Trader Joe's flower prices.

What you don't find in other stores: Bingo carries a lot of nonfood items that you wouldn't find in other kosher stores, including toys, Judaica, tichels, snoods, and even major appliances. I don't know how many people come in and just decide to add on a full oven or refrigerator to their grocery shopping, but the store seems to assume they will.

So far, they seem to give out plastic bags to those who shop with cashiers and boxes for those doing self-checkout. At present, only Seasons doesn't charge for bags. I believe Gourmet Glatt also charges for boxes that people who take delivery usually request.

*Hours: I suspect this will change because it is so out of sync with normal supermarket hours. As of now, Bingo only opens at 10AM, which some people who have attempted to come to the store earlier (right after dropping kids off at school or the like) already complained about. Given that all the other supermarkets in the 5 Towns open no later than 8 AM, I believe it will have to open earlier, too, or risk losing the business of all shopper who prefer to shop then.

Overall: I believe competition is good and has already driven the kosher stores to offer some better specials than they have in the recent past. It may also help prevent pricing from escalating as much as it usually does for Pesach products. However, if you are a super thrifty shopper, you may still end up visiting more than one store to get the best pricing overall.

P.S. After I posted this, I saw this email from KolSave. it's very obvious  that this is its attempt to lure shoppers seeker bargains at Bingo into its store by offering lower prices on the milk, eggs ($3 a dozen in Bingo) , and French  fries than they'll find there. Around the same time (though I only saw it in this evening) Gourmet glatt sent out an email about its own flash sale.

P.P.S. Granting Bingo your email address means getting promotional emails for appliances and furniture -- both in one day.

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