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Another Grocer Wants to Take Over the Tribeca Food Emporium
Thanks to M. for sending over this update from Supermarket News: “A&P has asked the judge in its bankruptcy case to approve the sale of six additional stores to Best Yet Market. Best Yet, based in Bethpage, N.Y., will pay a total of $4.725 million for Waldbaums locations in Selden and Great Neck, N.Y.; Pathmark stores in Islip, N.Y., West Babylon, N.Y., and Shirley, N.Y.; and the Food Emporium location on Greenwich Street in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood [….] Not including the recent acquisitions, family-owned Best Yet Market operates 20 stores under the Best Market banner on Long Island.” So the store would likely be called Best Market.
As for the Food Emporium staffers, “Best Yet has agreed to use ‘reasonable, good faith, best efforts’ to make offers of employment to a number of any former collective bargaining unit employees of A&P equivalent to at least 25% of the new store workforce who are qualified for such positions, provided that such offers of employment are not required in the same store location at which former employees worked.”
I reached out to Supermarket News retail editor Jon Springer, who said that he thinks the hearing is today and there’s no obvious reason the sale wouldn’t go through. Also, “that Food Emporium sold for $300,000, which among stores with a specific purchase price attached to them is the lowest price paid for any of the ~200 sold that I’ve seen.”
One more thought: I suspect this bodes unwell for the Fairway at 255 Greenwich.
And here’s some background on Best Market, from its website:
Best Market is a private, family-owned company. It grew from a small fruit and vegetable stand operated by Ben Raitses, the father of the current owners. The business expanded into a storefront produce store and, later into the first Produce Warehouse in 1994. A family-owned, regional chain of supermarkets with 20 stores in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The company is headquartered in Bethpage, New York, and has been owned by the Raitses family since its first store opened in 1994.
Best Market focuses on fresh foods, especially produce, meat, seafood, deli, dairy, and bakery items, as well as traditional grocery store items. Its offerings also include large selections of craft beer and wood smoked barbecue in some stores.
UPDATE: Somehow, I misread the Supermarket News article as involving Key Foods, which is why the URL mentions Key Foods. The headline and text have been changed accordingly.
19 Comments
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This is great news! I went into Food Emporium yesterday and found the entire experience rather depressing. I realized how much I count on the store for quick stop-ins on my way home. I’m happy to hear we will still have a non-Whole Foods option in the neighborhood.
I love a non WF option, but wouldn’t this space have been big enough for Trader Joes?
I very much agree. Food Emporium has always been the supermarket that has the items that FD and WF doesn’t have.
Fairway has big problems opening new stores anywhere anytime soon:
http://nyti.ms/1GNNiwX
Fairway has lost its way since the PE takeover, in my opinion. The choices there, especially the produce, used to be the best at the most reasonable prices. No longer, at least not in my experiences recently at the 125th St and Second Avenue locations. Best Market sounds like a good option. I still hope for a Westside Market (what Fairway used to be for produce) to swoop in (although their fish department is poor). Trader Joe’s? Except for some limited, select things, I don’t get the appeal. I’m with Donna — surprising how my family and I counted on Food Emporium for quick stops and are now sad to see it go, even though we used to call it, back when, “Rude Emporium.” (They haven’t been rude there for a long time!)
Westside Market would be a poor choice for the Food Emporium location…We need a conventional supermarket like Best Market that sells the types of products that Food Emporium did in that location. Westside concentrates much more on the Whole Food type grocery products, and if you want that it is only 2 blocks away and in a huge store at that…This is excellent news and hope they get it…
Guess you haven’t been to a Westside Market if you think that.
sounds great! let’s hope it goes through.
This is indeed great news (hopefully) – the Best Yet Market Yelp reviews for the Harlem Store are pretty good. I just hope they give a fair shake to the employees at FE, most of whom are pretty hard-working folks (but, yes, not all).
I had heard from one of the Food Emp employees that this location only has 2 years left on its lease – and that the landlord (IPN, I assume) is not willing to renew the least. Probably why it went for such a low amount – who wants to invest in a new location with a 2-year life span?
Erik, can you find out what the f**k IPN management thinks it’s doing, emptying out all its storefronts? Rumor has it the garage (next to Food Emp) is getting kicked out as well.
The reason that Vornado is not renewing leases is that they plan to tear down IPN in the next 5-10 years and build a massive mixed use project. This will include high end condos, retail and a hotel. Trust me, they have this figured out. The plan also includes relocating BMCC and using that land and air rights.
ewwwww no thought to the people who will be displaced? disgusting.thanks AM new york and James above. makes my blood boil with rage at the callousness of people giving information about future plans for IP, like there are no people there!!!!!
ALF,
Is this based on facts or is it speculation? If you have solid information, we would all love to know it.
@Alf
You have no idea what you are talking about. There has been talk about moving BMCC, but (a) that would be a separate project with minimal impact on IPN, and (b) it is totally speculative and would be unlikely to occur in a 5-10 year time horizon.
Yes, IP retail is going to get redone over the next couple years (hence vacating the tenants), but there is no chance that IP is going to be torn down in 5-10 years.
Vacating the tenants is spoken about like PEOPLE DON’T EXIST AND LIVE IN IPN. SHAME ON THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO REGARD FOR OTHERS.
Agreed, charango. They’re charging $6,000 for newly renovated apartments. No need to tear anything down as they’re already making a mint.
why isn’t the garbage Vornado under investigation for harrassing the tenants of IPN? The PEOPLE UNDER LAP/STICKY VOUCHER WHO STILL PAY A HIGH RENT PRICE FOR THEIR APARTMENTS ARE TREATED DIFFERENTLY THEN THE NEW MARKET TENANTS THAT COME IN. PREJUDICE EXIST AT INDEPENDANE PLAZA AND THE TENANTS SUFFER WITH THIS EVERY DAY.
@Doc: Yes, i have been to Westside Market (my friend lives one block from it) It is like 80% Whole Foods type of products and 20% Conventional…Best Market will provide a mix that is more like Food Emporium had (much more emphasis on conventional products) and THAT is what we need over here, not another Whole Foods…one is enough…
I am ready to welcome Best Yet to TriBeCa. Love the idea of a family owned business and I hope they are able to retain some of the employees.
I’m a faithful shopper of Best Market ..I shop in the one in Harlem NY and i live in the Bronx… I work 1 block from where the new Best Market will be located ..This is gonna make my life alot smoother….So I welcome the New Market…..Guess that’s where I’ll be spending my breaks…