Free groceries in New York? It feels like an impossibility — and yet, I saw it twice in two weeks.
It’s all thanks to a good old-fashioned marketing battle.
Prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi are in a two-week grocery war, both propping up short-term free supermarket stunts in New York. Last week, Kalshi took over a Westside Market for a day. On Thursday, Polymarket debuted its own store.
I stepped inside the store two hours before it officially opened as part of a press preview. The store was pristine, unmarked by the what I assume would be the rampant foot traffic that would soon occupy it.
It looked like a miniaturized Trader Joe’s.
The experience also seemed more planned out than Kalshi’s similar marketing stunt. While Kalshi took over an existing supermarket for one day, offering $50 in free groceries, Polymarket designed its own pop-up scheduled to be open for five days (though free groceries will only be available on three of those days — more on that later).
Polymarket is also accepting community donations for local charities, and donated $1 million to Food Bank for NYC.
I came out impressed — even if it was a week behind its competitor. Here’s what I saw.
The West Village has a new pop-up.
I arrived at The Polymarket (get it?) at 11:30 a.m., a half hour before the originally planned opening time of noon. (The company later pushed it back to 2 p.m., confusing some attendees.) The front of the shop was a circus of organizers, media, and everyday rubberneckers.
New York establishments love to call themselves the “first” or the “best.” Is The Polymarket really New York’s “first free grocery store”? Likely not, especially if you count the hundreds of food pantries across the city.
One attendee, Milla Jackson, arrived at 7:30 a.m.
I chatted with some folks in line, including Milla Jackson, a school aide from Staten Island. On hour four of her wait, she was grateful for her warm winter jacket.
Jackson heard about the pop-up in the newsletter “NYC for Free.” She spotted some olive oil inside that she was excited to pick up.
“I just found out about Polymarket,” she said. “I looked it up last night. I’m like, ‘Oh, I definitely want to show up.'”
Victoria Plaza arrived at 11 a.m.
Victoria Plaza was around Grand Central Terminal when Polymarket announced the location on social media. She expected that those ahead of her had been in the neighborhood.
The financial planning advisor came mostly out of curiosity. What would she take inside? “Whatever I can carry,” she said.
The Polymarket team was keeping everyone warm.
At 34° and sunny, Polymarket got lucky with a nicer opening day than Kalshi. They also handed out hot drinks (which Kalshi had) and put up heat lamps (which Kalshi did not have).
One of the day’s oddities: a painted-over sign.
A few minutes before making it inside, a man stationed his ladder on the front door and began painting over one of the Polymarket signs. No one seemed to know why.
The store’s schedule was pasted on a window.
For those seeking out free groceries, Polymarket will offer them up on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Those days also have community donation hours.
Saturday is Valentine’s Day, when The Polymarket will have a “community celebration” with free flowers and cards. Monday is the final day for donations.
Inside, the first thing I noticed was a disclaimer.
Inside the store, there were several framed notices that our movements would be filmed. It was a reminder: as much as The Polymarket is about free groceries, it’s also about a marketing stunt.
“Take what you need” (that can fit in a tote bag).
No, you can’t roll up to The Polymarket with a huge trash bag and clear off all the shelves. There are unsurprisingly some limits.
At Kalshi’s pop-up, it was a cost ceiling: no more than $50 worth of goods. At the expensive Westside Market, $50 meant only a few items.
At The Polymarket, it’s a constraint of physical space. Attendees get one branded tote bag and can leave with as much as it will fit.
Offerings were limited but classic.
The Polymarket focused on pantry staples. Oil, rice, seasonings, peanut butter, beans, the list goes on. There were no fancy premade meals, like at the Kalshi pop-up.
I also noticed more branding at Polymarket’s pop-up than at Kalshi’s. Here’s a digital sign advertising Polymarket above the gluten-free pasta. The flowers were wrapped in Polymarket-branded tissue.
There was a lot of fresh produce.
Carrots, avocados, bell peppers, you name it. The Polymarket put produce front and center. They looked idyllic in their wooden crates — though I’m not sure how long that sheen will last after the public opening.
Polymarket can’t escape the hype bro reputation.
The Kalshi grocery store was swarmed with crypto influencers and online betters. While that crowd hadn’t yet arrived at The Polymarket from what I could see, there were some signs of an overly online presence. The fridges were stocked with Logan Paul’s Prime Energy, for example.
Kerrygold? In this economy?
Most of the items in The Polymarket were fairly low-cost, though they all had name brands. One exception: the butter. Kerrygold is expensive! I was surprised to see a fridge full of them, ready for the taking.
One thoughtful touch: socks.
Socks are often the most requested items at homeless shelters. That’s especially true in the cold, cold winter. It was a nice touch to see a shelf full of them.
Why The Polymarket felt more thoughtfully designed than Kalshi’s grocery pop-up.
Leaving The Polymarket, I thought it was better planned out than Kalshi’s pop-up.
Where Kalshi had unlimited options but a tight overall budget of $50, I felt The Polymarket was more tailored to what people might want from a free-grocery stunt in the winter months. I found the staff was generally friendlier, and the whole thing was a bit less confusing. The emphasis on donation also made it feel less like a shiny corporate branding exercise.
Even Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a fan of affordability but not prediction markets, seemed to begrudgingly applaud Polymarket’s move.
Who knows what will happen over the next few days, as The Polymarket opens. Maybe the shelves will run dry. Either way, Polymarket seemed to know what it was doing at the jump.
Plus, the heating lamps were a nice touch.
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