Commack just landed a new grocery heavyweight, as fast-growing South Asian chain Apna Bazar has taken over the former Sanjha Bazaar supermarket on Jericho Turnpike and planted its flag in Suffolk County.
The Commack store quietly flipped its sign and reopened under the Apna Bazar banner on May 7, 2026, in the same roughly 19,500-square-foot space. Inside, regulars are now finding a beefed-up café menu, a full halal meat counter and expanded aisles stacked with spices, fresh produce and bulk staples. Shoppers say the prices are lower and the one-stop selection is the kind of spread many Long Islanders have been driving into Nassau County to find.
The conversion was first detailed by Newsday, which reported that entrepreneur Mohinder Pal Singh is a minority owner of the Commack store and that the shift to Apna came with new merchandising and pricing strategies. The outlet also noted that Apna Bazar is lining up more openings in 2026, including at least one additional Nassau County location and a Hillside Avenue site in Jamaica, Queens.
Chain Footprint and Supply Lines
Apna Bazar highlights dozens of U.S. locations on its website, according to Apna Bazar, with a growing network that stretches from Jackson Heights and Hicksville to Norwood, Massachusetts. Company materials emphasize distribution hubs on Long Island and in Queens that allow the chain to import products directly from South Asia and the Caribbean, a setup executives say supports their push into larger store formats as the brand scales up.
From Sanjha to Apna
The Commack site got its start as Sanjha Bazaar in late 2024. As Greater Long Island reported at the time, the store at 2160 Jericho Turnpike was led by Singh and billed as one of Suffolk County's largest South Asian grocery footprints, explicitly designed to fill a regional gap for specialty ingredients and prepared foods.
What Shoppers and Competitors Might Notice
Customers interviewed by Newsday pointed to the lower prices and wider selection as the main draw at the revamped Commack store. Company executives told the outlet that Apna Bazar leans heavily on private-label brands to hold down costs, a tactic that helps keep staple items competitive while broadening the appeal beyond strictly South Asian shoppers. All of that is likely to heat up the contest for grocery dollars against other regional South Asian markets in Nassau and Suffolk as Apna targets both ethnic and mainstream customers.
Where Apna Goes Next
Apna is not just thinking big, it is thinking huge. The chain is also pursuing a supersized format, with a 70,000-square-foot flagship in Shrewsbury planned to take over a vacant Stop & Shop in Massachusetts. The project signals that Apna is testing everything from neighborhood-scale markets to large destination stores as it feels out where it fits in the broader supermarket landscape.
If both the Shrewsbury buildout and the new Commack operation hold, Apna Bazar could emerge as a more visible regional rival to mainstream supermarket players, not just a niche stop for specialty staples.
