Late last week, the landlord took legal possession of 165 First Ave. just north of 10th Street — which has been home to Commodities for 30 years.
There was a legal notice from a city Marshal on the front door. Here's how that works:
A City Marshal may conduct an eviction or legal possession only after a court has ruled on the landlord's petition for removal and issued a Warrant of Eviction to the marshal.
We've seen tenants and landlords broker a new deal a few times in the past, and several fans of the market were hoping for a last-minute reprieve here as well.
Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be happening.
EVG reader Allan Yashin shared the photo from yesterday afternoon when he saw the lights on and the gate open. He saw this as a good sign, and hoped that there was a resolution ... "only to walk in and find a team of men dismantling the fixtures... After all these years, the store beloved by many, including me for over 25 years, has come to an end."
New owners took over the business in January 2019 and changed the name to Commodities Health Foods from Commodities Natural Market.
Michael Hughes opened Commodities here in 1993. Hughes and his wife Audra opened an outpost in Vermont in 2015.
Previously on EVG:
Ouch. This one hurts. 💔
ReplyDeleteAnother depressing closure. Now that Tarallucci, Snowdays, and Commodities are all gone, that corner has become a very sad space.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the employees had an idea this was coming and were as prepared as anyone can be in this day and age.
Agreed. This is a rather sad stretch of space. The primary reason these merchants leave is the staggering cost of rent not to mention the burden of other expenses. In this horrible, recession laden economy, it is virtually impossible to sustain a business such as this. My advice? Give up. Fuck it. Too difficult and not many good results. Find another game to play.
ReplyDeleteJust days before the landlord took possession, there was a major interior renovation underway to move the supplements section from the back of the store to the front, "where the small bottles would be harder to shoplift" – according to the owners.
ReplyDeleteThere was new shelving being constructed and older fixtures being dismantled, and the owners were pleased with the progress.
I may be a loyal customer in denial, but has a permanent closure been confirmed by the owners, or is this based on an account of seeing "men dismantling fixtures?"
Any update on commodities?
DeleteDamn.
ReplyDeleteWas this Commodities owned by the same people who ran the one on Hudson/N Moore in Tribeca? That was also a sad closure :(
ReplyDeleteOh. No.
ReplyDeleteDamn.
Wow this totally stinks. The only way to keep small businesses going is to shop there. Going to Whole Foods then complaining doesn’t cut it. Devastating loss of a cherished place
ReplyDeleteLiterally every NYC pol loves to talk about protecting small business yet all of them fail.
ReplyDeleteIt was never the same after the new owners took over. It became a sad place that didn’t feel fresh - but don’t get it twisted- Commodities was never fabulous it just fulfilled a real need in the hood.
ReplyDeleteI continue to support and patronize local businesses as a long term resident of the EV because it not only is integral to our community but also steers funds away from big, greedy corporations where many of it's CEO's garner multi million dollar salaries with bonuses. Sadly, as we witness our beloved spaces disappear each month into each passing year, the overwhelming stresses of operating a brick and mortar has become financially unsustainable. Unless one is independently wealthy and can outweigh the losses without becoming insolvent, I can't foresee many places staying or opening for that matter moving forward with inflation and a tanking job market. If I had the collateral to launch a business, I wouldn't do it. Perhaps I'd create an online presence, but nothing in person. Too many costs and issues. Once a place opens that I really enjoy, they seem to close unexpectedly because it is now being seized by the marshal for back rent. Commodities was a cool store. Sad to see it go. I am certain more are slated to close in the near future.
ReplyDeleteSo sad
ReplyDeleteWe have a city council , people. They were working on a bill to help unbearable rents on small business and the horrible practice for Building owners to value these storefronts at rents that are not real. ; hence the empty storefronts, all so the valuation of their real estate looks higher. Wonder if EV grieve could report on what happened to this bill and share a date for when to show up at the council meetings to advocate for getting it back on track? This real estate shill game is killing our city. I will see if I can find out something about this. Meanwhile take a closer look at the newly disclosed city agenda that our mayor just put forth to help developers streamline their building practices…… oh yeah…just what we need!
ReplyDeleteIt is called City of Yes and is full of the kind of perks you can imagine including tamping down on community feedback on projects. If it goes unchecked, we won’t have a neighborhood left to protect as all the “neighbors” will be third party investors who live elsewhere