"As we get closer to opening the store, we'll have more specific details to share – including how the shopping experience will be tailored to serve local guests," a Target spokesperson said.
This outpost has been in the making for three-plus years.
In February 2020, news broke (via the Post) that Target had signed a lease for a 33,000-square-foot store here. The current tenant, Food Emporium, had a lease until April 2023. Ultimately, the grocer shut down early — in May 2021.
As previously noted, the space that was once pub-crawl hotspot SideBar on the SW corner of 15th Street and Irving Place is now part of the retailer's footprint.
The 27,000-square-foot Target, a few blocks to the east on 14th Street and Avenue A, opened in July 2018.
And the Oct. 22 Target launch comes four days after the expected debut of Wegmans on Astor Place.
It'll be interesting to see how grand this opening will be during this golden age of shoplifting. The Target on the LES is robbed on an almost hourly basis. On July 4th I was waiting for a bus on Grand when a half naked drug addled man came flying out Target with a pile of clothing so large that he didn't see the moving car he ran into, causing him and the clothes to sail into the backseat window of the vehicle, spindly legs dangling in the air.
ReplyDeleteLuckily nobody was hurt and the ridiculousness of the Chaplen-esgue scene had the onlookers laughing, particularly when the driver got out of her car and began hurling clothes and obscenities at the thief while he insisted to the cops that SHE be arrested for attempted vehicular homicide.
I was witness to a young man stealing a ton of various products in a garbage bag this past spring at CVS on Astor. Sounds went off along with red flashing lights. Everyone was looking in shock at the guy who made a beeline for it. The security guards just stood there in disgust. The young woman behind the counter shrugged her shoulders. She said not only does this happen on a daily basis, but if they intervene, they can not only be immediately terminated from their position, but they can also be sued by the individual who is stealing for assault, not to mention the company could be involved in a lawsuit, which is utterly asinine.
ReplyDeleteHaving a Target here might be a good thing after all as opposed to an empty storefront. It does raise concerns with how they will address theft. I prefer patronizing this brand rather than Duane Reade, Walgreens, etc. They have better products and the prices are reasonable. Welcome to the hood!
Needed to say I mourn for what NYC used to be, the land of Mom and Pop shops where you could get practically anything you needed on this small island without having to resort to big box stores or the internet. There was such a variety of choice. Often the help at those stores would be founts of information and be passionate about their product. Walking into a store could be a joyous discovery of something you had no idea that existed. True pioneering small businesses could afford a small store and establish a business. Not anymore with the insane rents. Now there are so few choices and they all look nearly the same at all the chains and big box stores. Downtown used to have such variety and now it is a sea of conformity in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteMom and Pop ain't coming back.
ReplyDeleteYes. Mom and Pop stores were the backbone of our beloved community. It is what made NYC unique and original. Even though I am not over the moon with yet another Target being ushered into our neighborhood, at least it is not Walmart, which would send me packing for Europe ASAP.
ReplyDeleteagree with 11:12 & 12:54 wegmans, target same as kmart and whole paycheck meet the new boss same as the old boss it's not just nyc conformity and chains have taken over most places in the US anyway, people are so busy trying to make the bills they have no time for actual style or concern about the landscape of their neighborhoods landlords keeping property off the market doesn't effect their bottom line thanks to the cities tax codes covering such so more and more mom and pops vanish ..it's sad to witness the decline of substance in our society Insta and TwitX have some role in the conformity Devo sang it best we're through being cool
ReplyDeleteTarget from what I hear, don't F around when it comes to shoplifting. They watch very closely, they keep track of repeat offenders and then eventually build criminal cases against them.
ReplyDeleteMom and Pop stores WOULD come back if the rents were not so insane, and if NYC regulations were not designed to be an obstacle to actually doing business.
ReplyDeleteIf you're a Mom & Pop, you don't have a central office where someone has a full-time job just doing bureaucratic stuff for the city's requirements.
PLENTY of people would *love* to open a small shop, but it's just becoming ever more of an uphill battle in every sense. It's depriving this city of an incredible amount of diversity and creativity and choice.
NYC cannot quantify how many small shops *would* open if conditions weren't so crazy; NYC doesn't even know what it's missing out on. (And Adams really only wants to do business with people who can pony up!)
I think we can stop calling Whole Foods Whole Paycheck. It's cheaper by a mile than the D'agostino (formally Gristedes) on First Avenue and 21st.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. And if the new Wegman’s is anything like the ones I’ve been to elsewhere, I think you might be pleasantly surprised.
DeleteI live on C and 7th. For the record, I would unequivocally say Associated supermarket is more expensive than Whole Foods. Their produce and meat selection, which lacks freshness and appeal, is horrific and overpriced. My go to is always Trader Joes because it is closer and inexpensive. Target does a good job with offering something for everyone at a moderate price. I did once see a loss prevention associate at 14th and A stop a young man from stealing goods at the door. He was placed on a hold on the ground until NYPD arrived. They are more on top of theft than other stores too. The one good thing about this new location is that it is across from Union Square subway station. You don't have to walk to Ave A now.
ReplyDeleteNeighbor here… Associated is by far the most expensive. I refuse to shop there unless it’s an absolute emergency.
DeleteWhole Foods stopped being Whole Payckeck after it was acquired by Amazon. TJs and WHs have better selections and lower prices than Associated, Key Food and Wegman. Here's an example. Spring mix and Arugala are $3.99 at WHs but $5.99 at Key Food. I go through four a week, so I save $8 a week x 52 = $416 annually. I also eat Kale, one of the healthiest green veggies.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Mom and Pop stores. When I moved to the EV in 1987 there was the button store and the cotton underwear store on First Avenue as well as the pierogi shop and the fish store. Add to that the Polish GI and Kurowycky butcher shop. The only long-standing store seems to be the sewing machine shop between 10th and 11th street.
ReplyDeleteWho sews anymore?
I miss Woolworth's. They had just about everything.
ReplyDelete@11:07pm: "Who sews anymore?" Enough people to keep that store in business - and far more people than you're aware of, that's for sure!
ReplyDelete@11:07pm: Remember the egg store? I do!
ReplyDelete@11:24pm: Woolworth's ... sigh, they did have just about everything. As did Kresge's, which eventually became K-Mart.
Target offers better produce than Key Food and Associated, which says a lot. And it is less expensive. I know many bash Target for a myriad of reasons. I certainly don't grocery shop there, but I've found great bedding, decorations, toiletries, over the counter medicine, even closing on some occasions. I welcome them to our neighborhood.
ReplyDelete@9:39am: Surprise, Surprise is gone; Basics Plus is gone, K-Mart is gone. I welcome Target as the store that has a lot of the stuff I would have gotten at one of those other stores.
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer if Surprise, Surprise suddenly sprang to life again, b/c it was practical AND quirky - but failing that, this new Target will be convenient for when I need every-day items.
I meant to say clothing rather instead of closing when I posted on 9:39 am. Apologies for the mistake. :)
ReplyDeleteI shop at C-Town on 11th and C; they've upgraded to a point, but still have good sales and carry stuff I can't find in TJ, WF or Target.
ReplyDeleteI just hope they really clean up. Honestly, just the sidewalk leading from the subway escalators up to their doors is so filthy and the odor so off-putting, it quashes any desire to even cross the threshold, much less buy anything inside. Surely they can find a way to steam-clean (and generally de-funk) that section of black cement between the top of the escalators, the main E14th Street sidewalk, and their front door...?
ReplyDelete