Bingo! New Wholesale Club Store Opens In Lakewood

Bingo Wholesale opened its store on Route 70 in Lakewood on Tuesday.
DAVID P. WILLIS

We try to sell everything at wholesale price," said David Weiss, managing director of Bingo Wholesale, based in New York.

The 70,000-square-foot store in the Town & Country Shopping Center near the Brick boundary is Bingo's second store.The company opened its first store more than a year ago in Brooklyn, New York.
The products in the store are "mostly kosher," Weiss said. It's not just grocery. You'll find meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, dairy, dried fruits and nuts, bulk spices as well as housewares. There are baked goods and desserts, such as halva, a confection imported from Israel.

You'll find brand-name goods, but also items under Bingo Wholesale's private label, which includes BluPantry and BluShine. Many items also are in large and bulk sizes, commonly found at a warehouse clubs, which helps to differentiate Bingo from other stores, Weiss said. "We are like a club store, like a Costco-style store," he said. "The whole store is on special."

Bingo is a partnership between Weiss and Osher Ad, a grocery chain with 20 stores in Israel. "This is the second store," said Yehuda Lanaido, managing director at Osher Ad. "We plan to open many, many stores."

Bingo Wholesale is part of a fast-growing retail and wholesale segment that caters to a market for specialty and kosher food, said Burt Flickinger III, a New York-based supermarket analyst.
His firm, Strategic Resource Group, has surveyed kosher stores, supermarkets and specialty shops in Brooklyn.

"Bingo can compete with the price leaders and have a point of differentiation" with kosher and fresh foods, Flickinger said. Stores like Bingo "are extremely price competitive."

While they may cater to a Jewish population, price, quality and selection attracts the overall community, he said. "It is a United Nations of consumers," Flickinger added.