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Lackawanna Supermarket Opens Doors to Public

Store seen benefiting First Ward residents

By Jay Tokasz

December 15, 2011
 
Lackawanna -- a city virtually devoid of large grocery store options -- has a new supermarket.

It's not Tops, Wegmans or Jubilee, but the Lackawanna Halal Market at Ridge Road and Steelawanna Avenue opens its doors to the public this morning, featuring a full line of produce, meats and poultry, seafood, baked goods and grocery items.

Aside from a Save-A-Lot on Abbott Road, Lackawanna residents currently have to travel to West Seneca or Blasdell to shop in a supermarket.

But Mustafa "Mike" Jaarah, who owns and operates Lackawanna Halal Market with his father, Yousef, expects that to change.

"We're looking to catch all of Lackawanna, definitely. We're looking to get Blasdell, South Buffalo and Hamburg -- even West Seneca, too," said Jaarah, who plans to compete with the big supermarket chains on price, freshness and quality.

The 18,000-square-foot supermarket -- about half the size of an average Tops Market in Western New York -- is the second phase of development at the site by the Jaarahs, who started their business in a former auto parts store more than a year ago when they opened a controversial butcher shop and halal slaughterhouse.

Some First Ward neighbors, concerned about cleanliness and offensive odors, criticized city officials for pushing through the slaughterhouse without any input from residents.

Halal refers to the method of killing the animals in accordance with Islamic regulations and customs on cleanliness.

Much like Jews who observe kosher laws, Muslims eat only halal meats and poultry.

The halal slaughter involves the saying of a brief Islamic prayer and the use of a super-sharp knife to cut the animal's throat in a way that kills it instantly.

"It's very humane, and it's making sure that the product is 100 percent clean and everything is clean around the product," said Jaarah, who employs three halal butchers.

The Jaarah family has operated a halal slaughterhouse and market for 17 years in Brooklyn and regularly made deliveries of halal meats to Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

With a growing population of Muslims upstate, they decided the Buffalo area was an obvious choice for expansion.

They turned to Lackawanna in 2009, after a plan to open a facility on William Street in Buffalo ran into significant opposition.

The slaughterhouse never went through the typical planning board process in Lackawanna, and by the time residents learned of it, the development already had received the go-ahead from City Hall.

Chickens, calves, lambs, goats, ducks and rabbits can be purchased, slaughtered and processed on site, and the Jaarahs have applied to become USDA wholesalers, which would allow them to display processed and package meats for sale on the supermarket's shelves.

Until then, they will stock halal meats from a downstate wholesaler, Jaarah said.

Some residents remain displeased with the presence of a slaughterhouse in the neighborhood.

"I have smelled the odors. It's like a barnyard," said Andrea Haxton, the former First Ward councilwoman. "You don't put a slaughterhouse in a city. They belong on a farm."

Marcia Veal, who lives across the street from the supermarket, said she worries about rodents.

"I get a smell sometimes," she said. "It's just a sickening smell. I can't describe it."

But city officials said the slaughterhouse has not been a problem, and the supermarket will only benefit city residents, especially those in the First Ward.

"They're providing a service that this community does not have," said Mayor Norman L. Polanski Jr. "You have to go to West Seneca for a Tops or Wegmans. You have to go to Blasdell for a Jubilee. This is going to be very convenient for people in the First Ward."

The First Ward has a sizable population of Yemeni Muslims, many of whom still walk from place to place.

Because they deal in low volumes, many of the First Ward's small corner stores must charge higher prices to residents who often are of lesser means.

As long as the new supermarket's prices are competitive, it should attract plenty of business, said Michael J. Sobaszek, executive director of the Lackawanna Area Chamber of Commerce.

"That's going to be a welcome addition to the First Ward," he said. "The population of Lackawanna in the First Ward is more of a walking population."

In hindsight, Jaarah said he is glad the Buffalo deal fell through, because "we have more walk-in customers than I ever would have had down on William Street."

Still, Jaarah predicts that when fully operational, the combined butcher shop and supermarket -- which features a full selection of international foods, including from Asia, India and the Middle East -- will draw people from many miles around. A full stock of kosher products also will be available.

Jaarah also is promising the freshest seafood in the Buffalo area.

"We have fish that was caught last night," he said.

Abdul Noman, the current First Ward councilman, said he already encounters many people from outside Lackawanna when he purchases fresh poultry and meat at the facility.

Halal stores aren't new to Western New York, but the Lackawanna Halal Market is by far the largest.

"It's a burgeoning industry," said Imam Dawoud Adeyola, who ran a small halal market years ago on Hertel Avenue. "We were the only halal store in town for years. Now there's about 20."

The slaughterhouse was envisioned as a way to keep stores and some halal restaurants supplied with the freshest halal meats and poultry.

The slaughterhouse sells a couple thousand chickens in a week.

Jaarah said he is looking to buy most of his chickens and livestock in the future from local farmers.

jtokasz@buffnews.com