In January, Norman Kornbluth, the owner of Broadway Panhandler, announced that he was retiring, that his cookware retail shop on East Eight Street near Broadway would be closing.
We lost track of the closing date. (It was originally reported as some time this spring without a specific date.)
Anyway, in case you were planning on one last trip... the shop closed at the end of March. Our blogging friend Roger_Paw discovered this yesterday...
According to their Facebook account, limited inventory is still available at www.broadwaypanhandler.com.
The shop opened in 1976. Broadway Panhandler has been at the Eighth Street location the past 10 years.
And here I was planning on seeing if there were any double boilers left. Good thing I saw this before walking over.
ReplyDeleteThere prices were always a bit high and the cashiers were definitely not the friendliest people in the world, but it was one of the few comprehensive kitchen stores in the area. I just liked to window shop there. Hoping a decent alternative pops up in the future.
ReplyDeleteJust visit Broadway on the UWS- no shortage of panhandlers.
ReplyDeleteA great shop with everything you never knew you needed until you saw it there. Sure it was not cheap, but they sold quality items and pricing was in line with others. For years this was the only place that you could go and get an intelligent answer to a question about cutlery.
ReplyDeleteEven when they were going out of business their prices didn't seem great.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteEven when they were going out of business their prices didn't seem great.
It wasn't a fire sale; it was a planned closing sale, and the owner didn't have to sell out cheap.
I will miss it; I got a few great gadgets at the end—like a banana slicer!—and while I still know of stores that sell the things they sold, the location was great and the stock was phenomenal. They didn't close because they were failing.
High prices due to high rents. And another one bites the dust, no interest from his family or any strangers to take it over. Now it'll be an inane frozen yogurt or artisanal tea spot or retail bank. UG.
ReplyDeleteI liked browsing the store for ideas. I purchased a few items, such as my Le Creuset Dutch Oven and Butter dish, that have served me well. However, much of their merchandise was overpriced. In fact, I visited Bed, Bath and Beyond, and was delighted to find the same items for much less. The customer service at Panhandler was also hot and cold, mostly cold. I even visited toward the end and found little discounts. Whatever. I am sorry to see them go. They were a fixture in the neighborhood and they will be missed.
ReplyDeleteOverpriced, lousy customer service, no official goodbye from the owner (asshole) - good riddance.
ReplyDeleteI used to go to the Soho location all the time, but when Broadway Panhandler moved to Eighth Street, I stopped going as often. In both locations you had to check your bag and were treated like a shoplifter, which I always resented.
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect 7:16pm that was standard protocol at Canal Jean Company and many other places on Broadway between Canal and I'll say 8th Streets and still is. Alot of thievery on the grand old thoroughfare.
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