Kevin K.
Yelp
So, uh, what the heck, 99 Ranch - first store in long Island and you deliver this?
Okay, so for those who are not familiar, 99 Ranch has a bit of a reputation on the West coast - it's supposed to be the "premium" Chinese market...the one where you walk in and find the food that you want rather than to smell the slaughterhouse you didn't. The one where you take your non-Chinese friends and not have to feel apologetic about...no embarrassing Chinglish signs, poorly marked prices, or the piss poor sanitation. How do they pull it off? Solid management, good sanitation and great odor isolation. They usually have a food court and bakery that has decent (read: not great but good enough) wares that are okay if you are hungry and desperate for something asian. If you have been to their 2 location in Northern NJ (Hackensack and Jersey city off Rt 4 and the Newark Bay extension of the Jersey Turnpike) they are both fine establishments.
So why did we get stuck with this one?
Let's see - the parking lot is subpar. It's shallow, fills up quickly and does not have shopping cart returns. Eh, so where does 99 ranch expect you to put their carts after you drop off groceries so it won't turn into an evasive maneuvering course for your car? After I am done dropping off the groceries, I just shove the cart onto the grass near the Nassau county police barracks which is on one of the corners. With any luck the local cops might start sending tickets to 99 ranch and force them to install cart returns like a normal supermarket. One can only hope.
Second, why didn't they put the bakery section and the hot food section in the paid area? So you line up, ring up the groceries, then push your shopping cart into the bakery so you can mingle your paid and unpaid items onto the cart, and then you get to stand on line again to paid for the breads and pastries? Oh wait. Let me go to the back and get the usual steam table 3-and-rice. Wait, why is there a massive line that reaches half-way from the back to the middle? Oh. People are lining up for hot food with their carts, and there's no eating area where you can leave the cart with the kids while you line up to order and pay (again?!), similar in operations to the Costco food courts. You figure that if it's a couple the hubby can go back to the car and drop off the groceries while the wifey can wait in the line and order the food. Whaddayamean, people waiting for spots in the parking lot are giving you dirty looks and are downright pissed that you loaded up the car and is now proceeding back into the supermarket instead of driving away? Eh, either move the bakery and hot food area in the pre-paid area (that's what they do at the T&T supermarkets in Canada, or hell, Stew Leonards nearby) so you ring everything up at the same time and eat outside (or at home). Or you create a separate eating area where you can park the cart somewhere else and not create traffic flow issues. That's what H-Mart does in Jericho or Great Neck. Whatever 99 ranch have here is terrible.
As for the item selections...? It's not great. I was looking for salted mustard greens (雪裡紅) for stir-frying rice cakes (炒年糕) but I can't find them canned or fresh - the ones that I found are in small pouches at the produce section. In terms of breadth of selection it's a bit so-so - it's also pricier than H-Mart for most items like tofu, greens or sprouts.
Location-wise it's exit M3 off the Meadowbrook, but considering how crowded Merchant's Concourse/Old Country Road happens to be in the heart of Nassau county, it's not really all that pleasant. Personally I would rather drive further out to Jericho for H-Mart, or down to Hempstead for V&C. At least the traffic is more manageable. So why am i putting up with a dinky parking lot/shopping cart obstacle course, weird un-necessary crowds, less selection, higher prices and dodging traffic coming out of Roosevelt fields mall?
For service industries there are no such thing as a soft opening - unless you expect people to pay for goode and services using toilet paper rather than hard-earned greenbacks, get your A-game up. Either you are open and ready, or you are not. I don't think this particular 99 ranch location is ready yet.