Effective Thursday, August 11 our NYC Wine Shop in Union Square will be closed.It is now time for us to explore another location that will allow us to optimize the potential of our one and only license to sell wine in the state of New York. In addition, the space currently used for the wine shop will be used to improve the overall operations of store 540, our grocery store in Union Square.You will be paid for all days through __________.During this time, we will be working with the Mates, Merchant, and the Crew, and will talk indovidually with each of you about the opportunity to transwer to another Trader Joe's store in New York City.
A Reddit user, ID-ing himself as a former store employee, left this comment on the site:
The store still gets plenty of foot traffic, even after the pandemic - so I promise that isn't the issue here. Both the wine store and the grocery store next door are in a building owned by NYU, which is fine for the grocery store, but the wine store had to jump through hoops constantly to keep NYU happy. In fact, the wine store even has the license to sell their TJs brand liquor that you see in other states, but NYU wouldn't allow them to sell it due to their proximity to underage college students.
If anything, we'll see the wine store pop up somewhere else in Manhattan, probably adjacent to one of the existing grocery stores, and I promise it'll be a way better store than it was now that it's out of NYU's grasp.
Surprised at TJ's for doing things this way.
ReplyDeleteAt least they will try to help them relocate to another store,
but really, what a way to do things.
It's outright shameful.
Always NYU, the darth vader of NYC.
ReplyDeleteBut for what reason the payment thru date was blankened?
TJ's is a giant, multi-national, union-busting corporation. There's nothing to be surprised about. Ever since the founder cashed out, they've been working their way towards being just another terrible corporation with a friendly, green-washed face.
ReplyDeleteAs is NYU.
DeleteSo TJs is still the leaseholder and will use the store as a warehouse. There rest seems very haphazard and unplanned. They could have taken the leases on the Food Emporium space across the street that went to Target or the Kmart space in Astor Place that’s going to be a Wegmans. They’ve treated their employees disgracefully and they need to be held accountable for that.
ReplyDeleteHuh? I frequent this place once a week and it seemed to be doing ok. Definitely sensed less traffic compared to 2-3 years but they had a wonderful selection at affordable prices for people like me who enjoyed just sipping on a wine without caring too much about its history etc. this actually sort of sucks?
ReplyDeletePlenty of empty retail space near the TJ at 14th and A...
ReplyDeleteStill don’t understand this decision. Theyre going to regret it.
ReplyDeleteI will just goto Astor Wines
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why the Trader Joes Wine Store didn't sell their own liquor as you can find at other Trader Joes stores. Hopefully now that its not in an NYU building, the new Wine Store will also sell its TJ branded liquor.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance! Plenty of great local wine stores in the area selling much better quality product. The outcry on Instagram is hillarious, and is a depressing indicator of the late capitalist neolib condition in this city- 'mindful', Bard-eductated, progressive folk bemoaning the loss of a bigbox union busting corporation: "ohhh nooooo poor TJ! where will I ever get my mediocre booze for a buck less!? So many feels! :-(" *while munching Seamless delivery watching Netflix waiting on that Amazon package paying $4500 rent complainging about how the city has no character...
ReplyDeleteI like the picture of all the confused/lost people outside of the closed store. “What now??””
ReplyDelete@ 3:43pm. The reason there was a separate wine store is because the greedy Liquor Store lobby prevents all grocery stores and bodegas from selling liquor and wine. So Trader Joe made their own separate wine store. Maybe C-town and can fill the void with C-Town Wine.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know that. The point was why didn’t TJ have their own branded liquor at the wine store like other wine stores do, turns out NYU didn’t allow it.
DeleteI’ve noticed that Trader Joe’s wine has recently been increasing prices across the board, even their Two Buck Chuck which went up to $3.79. Their selection has also gone down, some favorite French wines were often out of stock, and the crowds have noticeably thinned out. It was still much cheaper than liquor stores which charge double or triple for similar quality wines. Hope they come back soon in a space nearby.
ReplyDeleteHa ha....Trader Joe's was never about the people. It was, is and always will be about making money. Though it is surprising that a store that sells alchohol couldn't make it in this neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteThey’re going to a bigger location
DeleteIt’s a shame that more NYU students aren’t embarrassed by the many and varied ways their university is a shitty neighbor to the rest of us. I didn’t even shop here, we are Astor loyalists in my household, but apparently I’m old-fashioned in thinking universities should be primarily in the business of education, not building and maintaining a real estate empire.
ReplyDeletePeople are so upset at Trader Joe's for making a perfectly reasonable business decision
ReplyDeleteIt is the absurdly restrictive State Liquor Authority laws that are forcing them to close this store. I was unaware that this was the ONLY wine and liquor store that TJ's is allowed to operate in the entire state of New York, and because of NYU, they weren't even allowed to sell their full product line. (I assume that the Whole Foods wine store on Columbus Ave is also that chain's only one in the state) Of course they would want to have their only wine store somewhere else, and I wouldn't be surprised if they reopen outside of NYC entirely, possibly on Long Island or upstate where they can have a larger space and a parking lot. The SLA is ridiculous and arcane. This is their fault, not Trader Joe's.
Meanwhile I notice that Morton Williams has three wine/liquor shops in Manhattan - why was TJ's limited to just one?
ReplyDelete