AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Staff is rude and horrible!! Sam Marrazzo would be rolling in his grave! RIP
I've been shopping at Marrazzo's on Parkway Ave in Ewing for years and used to have a positive experience. Unfortunately, that has completely changed under the new ownership and especially the STAFF.
Sad how my review all stemmed from how employees handled me trying to redeem a lottery ticket I purchased after grocery shopping - they refused to redeem the ticket and have a history of doing this all the time.. NINE times at this point... even when purchased at their own store??!!
Anything over $100 doesn't get redeemed. On (Sunday, 5/17/2026, around noon) I tried to cash a winning $200 ticket I had literally just bought from them, and they refused again. When I calmly asked about the NJ Lottery guidelines, staff told me management has "strict rules" against cashing higher tickets and claimed they never have enough cash (even in a busy supermarket with 5+ registers and constant traffic).
Look -- I understand retailers aren't obligated to cash every ticket under $500/$600, but a full-service grocery store that happily sells lottery tickets (in two vending machines and a store front) should be able to redeem $200 ticket just purchased there. Once or twice is acceptable but every damn time?!
But then... then interaction turned highly unprofessional. Three employees were involved:
* A thin, long-haired African American woman about 5'3" -- she is usually the one behind the lottery section (often with a bandanna or dreads) and is typically the employee who tells customers they can't redeem any "high" tickets. In this case she refused my $200 winning ticket (for the 9th time) on Sunday and has done so many times before. Even after I calmly explained that a grocery store should have at least $200 in cash available somewhere, she still denied redeeming the ticket and became aggressive and ignorant making the next co-worker finish the conversation for her..
* An older (50-60) woman with grey/dark hair and glasses who was loud and confrontational (I believe her name was Veronica). She actually quit her job twice while trying to ring me up. I pressed her a little on the logic of their guidelines and she completely cracked, quit, came back, then quit again after I challenged her weak reasoning further. It's sad and pathetic that someone in her 60s is this unstable and unable to handle a simple grocery store job and allowed me to CONTROL HER FEELINGS!!! like is this your personal $200??!! Haha she then had the next sorry sap cover for her on her last "quit"...
* A heavier short black man wearing glasses and a bandanna but SUPER diabetic.. To his defense, he had no idea what he was walking into. He came in hot-headed and aggressive as if ready for violence which is why I'm calling out his ignorance.. When I told him this was not an aggressive situation, no violence was going to happen, and that he has no idea what the situation was even about.. he still acted IGNORANTLY and stuck up for employees who were clearly in the wrong...ready for a fight which in full transparency, he's a liability to any employer.
During the confrontation with one of the Black employees, they attempted to make the situation about race. That angle quickly fell apart when they saw that my wife (who is Black) and I (who am White) are together. They shut their mouths on that topic immediately.... SOOO FUNNY, huh?
In short, they tried to kick me out of the store simply for asking them to cash a ticket I purchased there.... In what world?? They lied about not having $200 at the whole entire store and when I called them out on that BS, all simply crumbled into pure ignorance...with how things are running, I see why Marrazzo's needed that $200 much more than I do..
I used to give them the benefit of the doubt because Marrazzo's was actually my very first job ever when I was a teenager. I worked at the original location in Robbinsville as a bag boy, so I've always had a little extra leniency for them. But now it's too much. Since Sam passed away and the new owners took over, it is definitely not the same place. They still have the Marrazzo's name, but they have completely lost the concept of ethics, equality, and quite frankly, just logic and reasoning...
They're quick to take your money selling tickets but won't honor the redemptions. This pattern discourages customers and feels like it's hurting regular players.
If you play the NJ Lottery, I'd recommend going elsewhere for both purchases and redemptions. Very disappointed. Very ignorant workforce especially with how they handle confrontation. I only matched their aggression and they escalated further since they are truly a bunch of weak people... it shows because they're still working at grocery stores in their 50s.. WEAKNESS embodied.. check it out for a thrill, you'll see what I mean read more