Cross Island Fruit

One of my favorite stores to get fresh fruits and vegetables. The prices are always slightly lower that most supermarkets but the produce is so much better! There are a few other vendors in the store including a fish stand, bakery and meat department with a great selection. The Lynbrook location seems to have more of a selection than the New Hyde Park location or maybe it’s the vibe of the Lynbrook store… you could spend a lot of time there and customers are always sharing how they cook things. I even learned how to make wine from a customer that saw my puzzled expression while looking at a wine vat. The welcome friendly atmosphere, decent prices and quality keep me coming back!

The people that work there are incredibly rude. Over the phone, in person… I’m sorry that my existence is such a hassle to you and your business. Believe me, I will not be a bother any longer to you and your employees.

I always liked this place until the altercation today at the Good n Tender meat department. On Sunday, my wife bought some meat from them and froze it. When she defrosted it she realized that one of the packages of chicken were expired on the day before the purchase. Couldn’t find the receipt but I went to return it for an exchange, they gave me a hard time. The manger wasn’t there but the cashier was speaking to them on the phone. I had my bank statement on my phone but that wasn’t good enough. All I wanted was an exchange be she said come back tomorrow with the receipt by 430 pm. Who has time for that especially that most people are at work at that time. I have picture proof and bank statements to prove all this.
This place is known for it’s quality meats but I won’t be shopping in that meat department anymore. It’s a shame because my family and I just moved to the neighborhood.
This manager just lost a lifelong customer over around 8 bucks worth of chicken.

Berries, and apples, and pears oh my!
Oh and plenty more fruits too. I’ve been coming to Cross Island for my favorite fruits for years. I could always get my fruits and veggies at the supermarket but Cross Island has the winning prices.
Other than these items, I’ve never visited the meat department or bakery… Looks kinda sketchy. 4.5 stars for fruit!

This place has an excellent meat department. The pre-​made hamburger patties are top notch. The rest of the market is just average.

Has an excellent meat and fish section. Great fresh produce. You pay separately at the deli, meat, fish and lottery/​paper place.

Closes thing we have in the winter to a farmers market. I like that you can buy as much or little produce that you want. The pricing is fair but check everything for expiration dates before buying. Really love that they have their own bakery, deli, butcher and fish market (all locally owned and operated) inside… stay away on the weekends the parking lot leaves alot to be desired.

This place is the best. I drive passed 50 stores just to get to this place. They have the best fruits and the BEST meat department in the world. The prices and the quality are unmatched. The 2 inch shell steak is my favorite and the pinwheels are delish. Thank you for being here cross island.

Cross Island is kinda expensive. The quality of the fruit and vegetables is not great. The only reason I come here is because of the Meat Department!!! It is amazing. I always come out knowing more than when I came in about meat! The quality is also very good.

This place is great. Not a supermarket. You will find limited shelf stock/​prepackaged goods… Plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. Its the place where all the little old Italians shop. Prices are good, and when they have a sale, prices are Great! Produce is hit or miss. You can come one day and everything is super fresh and vibrant, other times I came to find it beat up, bruised and soggy. Just check everything before you buy.
I love coming to the meat department. The cashier probably thinks I am a hog, but I tend to buy like 6 packs of meats and freeze some because the meat is fresh, and you can’t beat the prices. Its tucked away in the back so it is not intimidating, and they have a great variety of store made items (pinwheels, meatballs etc). Sometimes I find the smell of cleaning chemicals overpowering, but I suppose that is better then the smell of other things…
Family friends love the fish market (although I can’t really afford it) and you will also find a deli and bakery inside. During the holidays they offer sales on plants, and Christmas trees. Half of my friends/​family come here to get their Christmas trees. They swear it is the best price and that they have the best trees!
The negative: parking blows! I work down the road and trying to come here after work is horrible. The parking lot is way too small for the amount of people that come to this shopping center (chinese food, reginas pizza & dry cleaner) Also, they close fairly early which sometimes is inconvenient. The cashiers are all young high-​schoolers that chit chat amongst themselves while they check you out… but who cares, they do their job.

Cross Island is a popular local grocery store that has a nice selection of fruits and vegetables. Prices here, especially for regular items like cereal and bread, are a bit high, so it’s best to come here only for essentials. We usually come here once a month or so to pick up the basics.
Like the name suggests, produce is king at Cross Island, and it far surpasses what you will find in an average supermarket. Other departments in the store, in my opinion, are lacking big time. The deli, fish, bakery, and meat departments all look equally unappetizing. The old expression is «If it looks good, eat it» and this is exactly why I keep on walking when I pass by these sections of Cross Island.
As I said before, Cross Island knows how to do produce. You will constantly see stock people replenishing the department with fresh veggies and fruits. Some of the items are basic, but they often have something that I’ve never heard of that looks really interesting.
Parking here is atrocious. Make sure you bring some patience with you on your visit.

Good deals the $$$$

1^st — the parking can become a nightmare here. Don’t go during a holiday or busy time, you’ll be circling around in your car or waiting around vying for the next available parking spot.
2^nd — the aisles are super tight. Avoid walking by fat shoppers.
3^rd — there is a large selection of fresh produce — the bananas suck, though. They’re in bags and you can’t cut the bunch up. Unfortunately, there’s always one or two in the bag that ruins the whole bunch… oh well. The meats are good. The bakery is good.
All in all, it’s a good store, however, if they took over a LARGER facility with a LARGER parking lot (like the Waldbaums that closed down on Ocean Avenue), I wouldn’t complain :)

Have you ever heard of a lemon sweet pear? Neither did I until I made my now weekly trip to Cross Island. Cross Island has been a staple in my family for like a million years. Personally, I didn’t really check it out until a few years ago.
This store rocks. The fresh produce is inexpensive, plentiful, and different. I come here to stock up on my fruits and veggies. My newest discovery at Cross Island was the plout. It is a cross between an apricot and a plum. Duh!
(It is more on the plum side but even more juicy and delicious.)
They also have a slew of fresh herbs for sale along with a great seafood, meat and bakery departments.
Cross Island is like a Farmer’s Market but in a store! Best of both worlds. A few years back, Cross Island have a fire (when I first started shopping) and I was so upset. They built back though better than ever and are who they are today!
The staff can be a little odd and the parking lot is always a mess but, it’s so worth the trip. If you happen to live in the neighborhood you will most likely bump into someone you know. Cross Island is like the secret everyone knows about.
I must say, it is a little pricy on the aisle items (bread, eggs, canned goods…) but that isn’t their specialty. Kind of an extra… I never even go down the aisles…
They also stock some interesting items that you can’t find at your local foodstore (like the lemon sweet pear! They taste like pears but are much smaller. They look like marzipan!)
So what surprise will I get next week???

For produce and meat, Cross Island beats most supermarkets in the area. It’s a convenient one-​stop shop. The prices on specialty foods like Italian treats and nuts can be a little high. The bakery offerings are unimpressive (not thrilled by the hygiene either), but also contained in the store are a fish monger, newsagent, delicatessen, and butcher. The deli has a good selection of olives, fresh cheeses and other antipasti. The butchery quality is very good and the guys are friendly. Their thin chicken cutlets are actually sliced thinly (hard to find elsewhere). You have to pay separately at each department, like you would at a marketplace with stalls.
The only thing is that I wish the quality of the produce — which is, after all, the main reason to shop there — were more reliable. More often than not everything is beautifully crisp, ripe, fresh and the shelves are full; other days it’s all a bit dull. So you can get, say, asparagus or oranges or apples that taste great one day, then not be able to recreate that magic until two or three trips later. Snatch up more than you think you’ll need when it’s fresh. Still, even on a bad day, it’s passable and the variety is good.
It gets very crowded and the customers can get pushy. The parking lot is kind of a disaster, so beware the crazy drivers and runaway carts.

I’ve been going to Cross Island Fruits since before I can remember. It’s a comfortable local place that also has everything you really need. The prices aren’t the absolute lowest in the area but the prices are good and the quality of the food is very good. This grocery store is by far the most convenient as well. It’s become even better since it had to remodel due to the fire a few years back. Also, you can get some of the best fresh mozzarella cheese there. Also every year, they never seem to fail to have to lowest prices for potted plants, vegetable seedlings and Christmas Trees.

Great produce, fresh, variety reasonably priced — love the olive selection

I’ve passed by Cross Island probably 2 310 948 123 082 103 times throughout the course of my life and today was the first time I’ve ever gone inside. I’m kind of angry I’ve been missing out this entire time. The fruit and fresh produce is actually FRESH. There is no comparison to supermarket produce. The prices are unreal. I paid .69 cents for apples today. WTF!!! (NOT COMPLAINING) Excited to grill up the rib eye steaks, hope they’re as good as they look– very reasonably priced also. Deli carries Boars Head and has combo special sales.
Definitely come with cash, though, because they do things weird here. If you get cold cuts from the Deli section, you have to pay for it before leaving the deli and they only accept credit cards if the order is above $ 10. Same for the meat section, you can’t leave the dept without paying — but you still have to go to the checkout counter if you have anything else. Strange, but it works I guess — the store is older than dirt.
The store itself is conveniently located on the corner of Hempstead and Franklin Aves in the shopping center with La Regina Pizza. Plenty of parking.

Every spring they prepare a large selection of potted flowers that are very popular with the locals. The grocery area aside, the other great part is the bread station — always fresh breads and baked goods.
I personally make it a point to stop and pick up some nice plants and flowers when I am in the area!

Cross Island Fruits is one of those stores you’d miss if it closed down or changed locations… well one fateful day in September of 2002, that’s exactly what happened. As a result of a smoke fire, Cross Island Fruit was closed down. I guess it was a blessing in disguise because it not only showed me how much I’d missed that wonderful market, but also spurred some seriously needed renovations in Cross Island Fruit.
I’m a frequent visitor at Cross Island Fruits and I’m a huge, huge fan of their fruits selection. They always have perfectly fresh and RIPE fruit! Tell me where you can find a fresh mango in the Malverne, Lynbrook, Valley Stream area?! Well, for me, it’s CIF!
The fruit is definitely something to brag about, but the seafood is GREAT. It’s so fresh! I mean, I wouldn’t skip a visit to Freeport, but it’s tough getting out there on a weekly basis. When I want seafood, I just drive 3 minutes away from my house and get to choose from a wide selection of shellfish and fish.
This place is a gem in my little squatty 1 sq. mile town.