First completely free grocery store opens in New York City

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Polymarket make history with New York's 'first free grocery store'

The store is fully stocked for its opening next week with 'no purchase required'

The pop-up store, is set to open on Feb. 12 at noon ET. It will offer groceries entirely free of charge, with no purchase or sign-up required.

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Polymarket has announced it is opening the first ‘free grocery store’ in New York City and it has been met with a mixed reaction.

The news was posted to X, formerly Twitter, by the crypto prediction market and many have taken to social media to share their own reactions to it.

In the post, the company wrote: “After months of planning, we’re excited to announce ‘The Polymarket’ is coming to New York City. New York’s first free grocery store.

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“We signed the lease. And we donated $1 million to Food Bank For NYC - an organization that changes how our city responds to hunger.”

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Polymarket - Founded by Shayne Coplan, Polymarket is a prediction market that allows users to gain/lose on the outcome of world events. Launched in 2020, it offers a platform where individuals can trade event contracts on future outcomes, primarily sports matches but also including economic indicators, weather patterns, awards, and political and legislative outcomes. Participants can deposit USDC cryptocurrency through the Polygon blockchain network and trade shares that represent the likelihood of specific future outcomes.

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Both Polymarket and Kalshi announced free grocery stunts in NYC.
Kalshi launched a $50 grocery giveaway at an East Village grocery store on Tuesday.
Polymarket says it's doing its own pop-up, calling it "New York's first free grocery market," for 5 days starting Feb. 12 at noon.
Free groceries, courtesy of your favorite prediction market.

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That's the stunt that both Kalshi and Polymarket are attempting to pull off in New York City, in an apparent nod to Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pledge to open city-run grocery stores.

Kalshi's offering arrived first, offering shoppers up to $50 worth of free groceries at Westside Market, a grocery store in Manhattan's East Village on Tuesday.

Business Insider attended the event and found a long line.

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