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Update on Food Emporium and Fairway
Part 1: Food Emporium
Workers at the Food Emporium are telling people that Key Food has bought the supermarket, but I haven’t been able to confirm that with A&P (which owns Food Emporium) or Key Food. Moreover, says Meg, “I just walked past and they have a cashier wearing a sandwich board announcing that the store is closing and everything is 40 percent off. Someone in the store said their last day will be Nov. 17! RIP Food Emporium.”
As James pointed out in the comments, the Local 338 union has on its website that the Tribeca Food Emporium (store 777) was not among those purchased at auction this week—but “Discussions for a possible bid to purchase Food Emporium 777 are ongoing. Should anything develop, we will keep you updated.” So the takeaway here is that the store will close if negotiations don’t work out.
Part 2: Fairway
At yesterday’s dismal earnings call, Fairway announced that it’s seeking additional financing, which sent the stock to a new low. The only mention of the Tribeca store (at 255 Greenwich) came from CEO Jack Murphy:
I believe we have derisked the overall credit substantially by doing both the Hudson Yards and the Tribeca situations, which we are monitoring closely in the Tribeca area.
The lease for the Hudson Yards store was terminated, so I think what we’re hearing there is that the company is back to investigating an exit from the Tribeca lease. I reached out to Supermarket News retail editor Jon Springer, who said this:
They haven’t said one way or another, as you picked up. I think we will get more clarity on that when and if they get this financing they are talking about. If they don’t get that, you can be sure this won’t happen at all. I believe in the last call they indicated the next store to open would be Brooklyn/Georgetown, sometime mid-2016, so whatever they would do in Tribeca would come following that. You might also know they indicated they would build a smaller store there than initially anticipated – 40,000 feet rather than 52,000.
And elsewhere in the call, Fairway said that they’re planning to “flood the boroughs” with smaller stores—around 25,000 square feet, a new strategy that could leave Tribeca out in the cold. It’s possible they’re watching to see if anyone takes over the Food Emporium space. That said, the company’s press release about the earnings report included this (the question is whether Tribeca is “currently scheduled” for 2016):
Although we believe we have sufficient liquidity and capital resources to meet our current operating requirements and to open the stores currently scheduled to open in calendar 2016, in light of our leverage profile and the constraints that places on our longer-term growth strategy, we are currently exploring alternatives to raise additional capital to allow us to de-lever the balance sheet and fund additional growth initiatives, including investments to rebuild sales and pursuing new stores opportunistically.
16 Comments
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a key food in place of the food emporium would be the best outcome. the food emporium workers would get a shot at keeping their jobs and the rest of us would have a place to get our helmans mayo and heinz ketchup.
As the sign says, “UP to 40% off.” Most items are 10% off, and very few are 20% off…which is no savings considering the prices at Food Emporium. However, all spices are 40% off, for those who are interested.
I worked there for seven years and loved the store as well as my co-workers. God Bless you all!
A worker told me today that Nov 25 is the closing day.
Any updates?
It’s really sad in there – and horrifying to think that we are devolving into a neighborhood without a local supermarket.
My father moved into this neighborhood in 1968 when it was without services – are we sliding backwards into that space, because people are too plugged in to luxury delivery (i.e., Fresh Direct)?
Does this horrify anyone else besides my family?
No, everyone else is fine with this. Lots of food choices in the neighborhood.
Nope. I found the staff at Food Emporium to be incredibly rude. While I am not happy that they might lose their jobs I won’t miss the place. Morgan’s carries all the major brands and everyone there is hekpfyl and friendly.
I’m with you. The Emporium was perfect for what it is. Are we supermarket Ludites?
Fairway pleeeeeeeease. So tired of pseudo hip wholefoods.
With Fairway we get international foods as well as Hellmans and Haagendazs
Let the. Ompetition games begin!!
i, too, think it’s a tragedy. it was very helpful to have a traditional grocery with long hours (when i moved here they were 24×7). whole foods is great at what they do but providing basics at reasonable prices isn’t their forte.
Food Deplorium! The produce was marginal and the staff are very rude. What can be done to get Fairway to move into the space? Fairway has its internal issues but I’m sure a market analysis would prove Fairway in the Food Emporium space would be a good fit.
I will miss the EMP. It is not fair to brand all of the employees as rude. When certain products I used were no longer on the shelves, I asked the managers if they could get them back and they did. One delivery man has worked there forever and he is a real sweetheart. Like most things we deal with, the EMP was a bit of the good, the good, the bad and the ugly.
I’m afraid that what we are most likely to get is — another empty storefront!
Why lease it out to another grocery when you can keep the space empty for the next decade, in hopes that some super-luxury company comes in willing to pay an exorbitant rent???
I’m among the neighborhood FE mourners who will miss all the non-fancy necessities that Food Emporium stocked. And I never once found a rude employee.
Maybe you did not know but the Food Emporium was the very first supermarket to start the neighborhood so were the three buidlings called Independance Plaza, also PS 234. Working Class Diverse group fought for all of this many many years ago. Our neighborhood became a sell out to landlords and the rich and famous who have no manners at all. wait and see how the block becomes in the upcoming months when there are people getting mugged because of no lighting on Greenwich Street. There are still seniors who depend on the supermarket for groceries and people who can not afford free direct or wholefoods. Tribeca had character years ago it does not have it anymore. Its a shame.
Where is mayor Dum Dum and all the elected officials to help the middle class? no one cares New York became a sell out. People came in who have all kinds of money and bought what we created
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2015/10/8580487/de-blasio-official-dismisses-commercial-rent-control-idea
“On Thursday, [Mayor Bill de Blasio’s deputy mayor, Alicia Glen] again warned of the dangers of wearing rose-colored glasses, while also arguing, ‘there are some small businesses that are probably going to just fail because they’re not very good businesses,’ and therefore shouldn’t necessarily be protected.”