Several residents participating in a Tenants Association meeting earlier this month passed along the tip.
A spokesperson for Beam Living, the Blackstone-owned management company that oversees Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, confirmed the news.
"We have decided not to proceed with the potential new grocery offering at this time and are focused on finding a tenant that complements the area's existing offerings, continuing to build on our successes of adding great new tenants to the neighborhood," the spokesperson wrote in an email to EVG. "We are excited that in recent years both Trader Joe's and Target, two best-in-class brands that provide fantastic food offerings at a good price point, have opened directly across the street from the contemplated new grocery location."
As you may recall, in February 2021, Stuy Town management informed residents that Chef's Local Harvest, a 10,000-square-foot grocery store, would open in this space.
The family-run market is owned and operated by father-son duo Paul and Aaron Fernandez, who helped create the Union Market chainlet (as seen on Avenue A and Houston) and Ideal Marketplace in Chelsea.
Here's more from the announcement to residents in February 2021:
Paul Fernandez has operated best-in-class supermarkets in New York City for the last 40 years and has worked to provide quality service and products throughout his career. He grew up in Little Italy after immigrating to the United States at 14, and is a founding member and principal in the Union Market chain, as well as America's Food Basket Banners.
Chef's Local Harvest will feature a combination of fresh produce, fish and meat, in addition to a wide selection of prepared food and grab-and-go options via a café, deli and more.The space will also conveniently include an entrance directly connecting to the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village community, providing quick and easy store access for our community. The store will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Last fall, we heard about ongoing discussions regarding an entertainment/performance space in the store... with an outdoor cafe and a new entrance at the mezzanine level. (The deal included 7,300 square feet of the usable basement, per The Real Deal.)
As sources explained it, given the unique situation of the interior of the Stuy Town-Peter Cooper Village being zoned as R7-2, any type of commercial enterprise must be a "resident amenity." Hence, any liquor license must be a "club" only for "residents and their guests."
While the plans didn't materialize for the Chef's Local Harvest, the Beam Living spokesperson was quick to tout other additions in recent years, including Rosemary's East, Bread Story and "a successful and well-received renovation of Hane, the popular local Japanese restaurant."
Associated closed in December 2019. Joseph Falzon, the store's owner, previously told Crain's that a confluence of factors had cut business nearly in half. For starters, construction on 14th Street for the L train obscured the supermarket with a 12-foot fence for nearly two years.
EVG photo from the fall of 2022
28 comments:
Zoning, enemy of civilization, claims another victim. This is why we cannot have nice things.
Bread Story is excellent.
What civilization has to do with New York?
We need another choice for supermarkets not another Bread Story or expensive shop.
Not going to happen.
Yes.
Gracefully is the undisputed MVP of stuytown businesses. Still, I have never once heard anyone complain about TOO MANY grocery store options.
What a ridiculous zoning requirement... Totally right that excessive zoning is the problem here... NYC has got to cut the red tape.
ALDI or Lidl 2 awesome affordable grocery stores. They have locations just outside NYC not sure of any in the city. Came here from Europe not too long ago.
Ridiculous zoning requirement?
It’s zoned for RESIDENTIAL use, there should be NO businesses operating on the interior. The outer perimeter is chock full of storefronts, is that not enough?
They got around the law with the cafe by stating it’s an amenity for strictly residents only. But does anyone ever check? Are you joking?
Wrong! They wanted to create an entrance interior to stuytown, and that area doesn’t need more foot traffic from the 14th Street riff raff
They could also just not sell alcohol…and if they need alcohol to survive then it’s not a business model for that storefront.
Agreed. Trader Joe's and target are fine but neither is a typical "grocery" store
You're seriously against a grocery store? Eek
There is no way it is a good idea to have access to the interior for anyone from the street or a cafe that destroys space that now is green. We need a real grocery store.
I just don't get this. I received a survey and it was worded so that if you answered yes to a grocery store and cafe you were agreeing to loud noise, trash, and unwanted visitors to the property. There was no voice of the business in the survey; meaning, we promise to be good neighbors and close the cafe at a reasonable hour, keep the space clean, and offer a warm and welcoming environment. Now we have an empty building (since 2019) littered with trash and honestly a little creepy to walk by any time of the day. Why would this new store be any different from the other wonderful business around Stuy-Town including Rosemary's and Hane. It seems it is always "no" before "yes" and, for gosh sakes, please change the zoning!
We still need a real grocery store- this is so frustrating- gracefully is ridiculously expensive. Why would they want ti create another entrance and destroy greenery!! People have said all these comments already but I hope some of the idiots from beam living read this ;(
Grocery store? No.
Outdoor cafe/Entertainment venue? Yes.
Gracefully is nicer than the older location on Avenue A, but it is far too expensive to shop there. Everything costs, at minimum, between one and five dollars more than you would pay within a few blocks away.
There's an Aldi in Harlem in the same complex as the Target.
Gracefully is and has ALWAYS been obnoxiously overpriced. The locals know to steer clear because it is such a ridiculous rip off and the people who work there are very rude.
That cluster fuck corner of A and 14th is BRUTAL now.
Can we have a vegan restaurant? Like planta queen, spicy moon, along with a vegan market. Or a multiple food hall type of scene.
can residents /locals lobby for a grocery store? it’s more than necessary but idk how to move ahead given this roadblock
if it is any kind of entertainment venue it needs to sell alcohol to survive. And many residents of Stuy Town would welcome it. Many pubs and restaurants that used to be locals on First Ave have disappeared--MJ Armstrong's --now a TD Bank, First Ave Pub--now a Dunkin Donut---and Quigley's.They were nice neighborhood places.
Ridiculous. Stuy Town needs a supermarket like the Associated that was there. Something with cultural groceries. Neither TJ's nor Target carry the likes of Hispanic food. The community, even beyond ST, was left with big loss when Associated closed.
To address the recent European arrival’s comment but, of course both Aldi and Lidl are here in NYC. Aldi is uptown East 116th M15 SBS and in Queens 63rd Drive off the E, F, or R. And LIDL is in Queens not far at all by car, it is on 37th Street a hike from Steinway, not all that far from LaGuardia Airport. Prices on some items are very good but one still must vet each and every purchase carefully and realize European food manufacturers learned some of what they know from American companies plus they have their own uniquely European peculiarities, As one who does not like Trader Joe’s the shuttering of Trader Joe Wine on East 14th and Trader Joe’s anti-union labor practices make me want to avoid the store and I make the effort. Target sells products with expired sales dates. I have noticed this repeatedly in their cheese display. If one compares their Good and Gather brand, to other regional and national brands they contain more salt, sugar and whatever is inside, what you walked into the store to purchase, whether in a package or can, one can be sure, it is coming from a highly processed, mechanized factory setting, and there is nothing, “good and gather”, about the food products Target is selling. They offer corporate produced farmed and packaged foods, that are by and large, unhealthy for most everyone to consume, over the course of a lifetime. Read the ingredients on their house brand ice cream versus a Breyers
Please ask Associated to return as a public service if for no other reason. Morton Williams I heard turned ST
down which was unfortunate. I would suggester you subsidize Associated's return instead of raising their rent which I. heard was the reason for their closing,
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