Exclusive | Hochul throws shade on Mamdani’s NYC-owned grocery store plan: ‘I favor free enterprise’

Gov. Kathy Hochul threw cold water Saturday on socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to bring government-owned-and-operated grocery stores to the Big Apple.

 “I favor free enterprise,” Hochul told business leaders at a Hamptons breakfast hosted by supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, when asked about Mamdani’s pie-in-the-sky plan.

The response drew huge applause from attendees, including Catsimatidis.

The Gristedes supermarket owner later told The Post Mamdani’s plan would fail miserably, pointing to failures at a Kansas City, Mo.-owned grocery store that closed Monday after years of being a huge money pit for taxpayers and being plagued by rampant shoplifting and empty shelves. Kansas City reportedly invested $18 million the past decade trying to keep the store afloat.

“New York City is a capitalist city – look what happened in Kansas City?” he said of the now-shuttered Sun Fresh Market. “These types of grocery stores just don’t work.”

Hochul, a moderate Democrat, has yet to made an endorsement in the mayoral race.

Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and frontrunner heading in November’s mayoral election, has proposed opening five municipal grocery stores — one in each borough — and potentially expanding to a larger network of stores.

He’s estimated the first five would cost $60 million combined to build.

Critics have said they fear Mamdani’s plan to create “Soviet” markets would leave customers stuck with just one brand or generic brands of items like bread and milk.

They also said that fixed prices at city-run markets could force competing private businesses like Gristedes to shutter, leaving New Yorkers with less selection.

Mamdani’s campaign declined to comment.