Polymarket Is Opening a Free Grocery Store in New York City

Newly minted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on the promise of free city-run grocery stores. But randomly, sports betting platforms — or to use the politically correct term, "prediction markets" — have beaten him to it. Randomly, Kalshi gave away groceries for three hours on February 3 at a grocery store in the East Village, presumably to the delight of the neighborhood's NYU and New School students.

Now, Polymarket is one-upping them, announcing a five-day free grocery pop-up, which the company is advertising as the city's first free grocery store. Not only has Polymarket "signed the lease" (what landlord allows a five-day lease?), the company has also donated $1 million to Food Bank for NYC.

While the location of the free store (is that an oxymoron?) is still a secret, it will be open from Thursday, February 12 through Sunday, February 15. Sounds like a nice Valentine's Day date.

After months of planning, we're excited to announce 'The Polymarket' is coming to New York City.

New York's first free grocery store.

We signed the lease. And we donated $1 million to Food Bank For NYC — an organization that changes how our city responds to hunger. ???? pic.twitter.com/BGMCWUMz8n

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) February 3, 2026

"The activation is the result of months of planning — from securing permits and building out a dedicated retail space to coordinating logistics and nonprofit partnerships — and represents a direct investment in the city where Polymarket was founded and scaled," the company said in a press release, via Business Insider.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani Responds

As the city's first millennial mayor, Mamdani responded to Polymarket's soft launch by posting (tweeting?) a meme on X (Twitter?). He shared a photo of the classic ClickHole headline: "Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point."

https://t.co/oXWXiS5kMJ pic.twitter.com/i8YCmIaGLW

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 4, 2026

City-run grocery stores were a central tenant of Mamdani's campaign. The stores would be exempt from paying rent and property tax, and they would sell products at wholesale prices, making them significantly cheaper than for-profit grocery chains that dominate the city.

Will it happen soon? According to Polymarket, there's currently only a 14% chance a city-owned grocery store will open by June 30.