Medina Mart opens new larger store

After over a year in construction, Medina Mart has opened the doors of its brand new location on Central Avenue. The new, larger 3500 square foot store has been completely renovated, and now includes a wall of refrigerated storage for fresh ghee, paneer, labneh, and a complete selection of halal meats. The store also carries basmati rice, flour, beans, fresh dates, produce, and spices, and brands familiar to the Middle Eastern community, including Shan cooking mixes. 


Today, the store's neat aisles are loaded with imported goods and spices, and their end caps mounded over with inviting looking cookies and dates. The area behind the register includes medicinal teas and first aid products, and hand-lettered signs advertising sales. 

Owner Iftikhar Ahmed is proud of the family business and its continued growth; his father opened the first Medina Mart more than 15 years ago. The grocery store specializes in Pakistani, Indian, Middle Eastern foods for the growing Middle Eastern community in Albany. Ahmed says the family will keep the old location open, and his brother will convert the business into a clothing or fabric goods store. 


The Medina Mart is located at 286 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206.