The Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co. wraps up four-and-a-half years of business today at 189 Avenue A at 12th Street. (Hours: 11 a.m. to ?)
Siblings Julie and Will Horowitz, who also operate Ducks Eatery on 12th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, announced the closure in an Instagram post earlier this month.
The general store was named for their great-grandparents Harry and Ida Zinn, Hungarian immigrants who had a store in Harlem. This shop arrived on Avenue A in June 2015, and immediately drew raves for their pastrami ...
The pastrami was one reason mentioned for the closing.
Per Eater:
But that pastrami presents a conundrum for Horowitz, an environmentalist committed to sustainability. “We love selling pastrami because it fucking tastes delicious, and that’s where we’ve had all our accolades,” says Horowitz. But selling it in the quantities that might make for a sustainable business won’t make for a sustainable planet, he says. “We still wanna do it, we just don’t wanna make a business out of it.”
And...
Pastrami under the Harry & Ida’s moniker will still appear as a special at Ducks, but now the chef will devote more attention to non-meat items he’s developed, like smoked carrots and a viral smoked watermelon that looks like a giant ham. “I think that’s the direction for us: Keep a small restaurant and develop more sustainable [foods].”
There were also financial considerations. In August 2018, they shuttered their offshoot Harry & Ida’s Luncheonette in the Financial District after 10 months in business.
And as I reported in October 2017, workers removed the sidewalk bridge and scaffolding from the Avenue A side of the Steiner East Village condoplex between 11th Street and 12th Street.
For 19 months, the entrance to Harry & Ida's was obscured by all this construction. In total at the time, 19 of their first 29 months in business had been under the doom and gloom of that sidewalk bridge.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Acclaimed pastrami purveyors Harry & Ida's will close this month on Avenue A
I don’t know why vegan/vegetarians want to make their food look like the real thing. Like Tofu turkey, watermelon ham...stick to your guns if it is non meat enjoy it that way.
ReplyDeleteRIP. It was mighty tasty. I bought one pound of bacon and pastrami last week, I'm going to miss their pricey but delicious food.
ReplyDelete@tom: Sometimes we like to have carrot lox and non-dairy cream cheese; I'm not telling you how to eat.
ReplyDeleteWe will miss this place terribly. We didn't go often but we went regularly. The food was top notch and they were always super nice and always welcoming of Miss Kita the Wonder Dog™ We wish them the very best. xo, jg
ReplyDeleteThey made an extremely pricey sandwich that was not as fulfilling as Katz's, sorry to say.
ReplyDeleteLove the entrepreneurs' spirit and wish them well!
@Dan wrong. Katz is extremely pricey at $8 more than the Harry & Idas pops ($17). The Pop's was smoked meat where the Katz isn't smoked.
ReplyDeleteKatz is an institution but let's not pretend it's anywhere near a good deal.
@ 10:22 a.m.: I recently had a pastrami on rye from Katz, it was $20 plus tax, including a slew of pickles. It was quite enough for two people to enjoy. I would call it a good deal and a great meal.
ReplyDelete