The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company in the early 1900s was headquartered at 116 Imlay Street, near the Atlantic Basin.  The company, generally known as A&P,  started in Manhattan in 1859 as a retailer of tea brought in by clipper ships. The company expanded into coffee and spices, evolving into a national chain of grocery stores by the early 1900s. They found great success with their concept of an economy food store. The company's expansion is likely why it moved its New York operations from Imlay Street to Sunset Park's Bush Terminal in 1921. 

In the 1900s the chain had 400 stores, 1,600 by 1915 with the number of stores continuing to dramatically increase.  From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States.  By the 2000s the chain was in decline and went out of business in 2015