Met Foods checks out of its longtime 3rd Avenue home

We didn't get the chance to note this last week, when the Met Foods on Third Avenue between East 16th Street and East 17th Street closed for good. (Yes, not technically in the East Village, but we know some residents who live in the northern part of the neighborhood who shopped here.)

And we didn't did hear an official reason for the closure. The space is for rent via Solil Management. The listing doesn't seem to be online.

A sign on the window redirects would-be shoppers to the already crowded Associated on East 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A…



The store has mostly been cleared out…





A few items remain, such as the time clock and a cane...



EVG reader Harry Weiner alerted us to the store's last day. And here's what he had to say about the impending closure in February:

"It has been in the neighborhood for many years – one of the last old-school stores. It will be a great loss to many residents. Prices were reasonable," he said. "I'm sad about this. I live nearby and have been shopping there for about 18 years. There are many longtime employees who will lose their jobs.

"Frankly, it's my favorite neighborhood store because it's a vestige of a fading grocery store era and reminds me of my Brooklyn youth."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Met Foods on 3rd Avenue in Gramercy Park is closing (19 comments)

The Met Foods space is now for rent on 3rd Avenue

Earlier this month, we reported that the Met Foods on Third Avenue between East 16th Street and East 17th Street will be closing at a date to-be-determined this spring.

The for rent sign is now up at the space. We didn't spot a listing for it online just yet.

Meanwhile, the mood inside isn't so good. Said EVG reader Harry Weiner, who shared the above photo: "There is a subdued atmosphere of gloom in the store…"

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Met Foods on 3rd Avenue in Gramercy Park is closing (19 comments)

The Met Foods on 3rd Avenue in Gramercy Park is closing

Several readers have passed along word that the Met Foods on Third Avenue between East 16th Street and East 17th Street will be closing in the months ahead.

Readers made these comments on the Open Pantry post last Friday:

Just heard that the Met Supermarket on Third Ave. between 16th and 17th will be closing in April due to new rent demand. It will be a real loss for the neighborhood. They are all very nice people and the store is a real asset to have nearby.

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I live on 19th off 3rd and I have to say, that Met is a dive. Always walk the few extra blocks to the Dag on 23rd and 2nd Ave or the new WestEnd Market. If they took care of the place a little better, maybe they'd have been able to afford the increase.

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...this Met isn't the shiniest apple on the cart. When pressed, however, they did bump up their produce game. That was a clear response to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and even the health food market on the corner of 16th Street.

But it wasn't enough. Their space isn't meant to house a 21st-century grocery store: low ceilings, three or four registers, exceedingly narrow aisles, and White Rose this and that. It's low-end, low-margin merchandise inside a marginal space, staffed by people who give off an unmistakable vibe of indifference (and I'd probably do no better after a spell working there, bless them).

The sad part is regular shoppers probably rely on it for location and cheaper necessities. Whenever I go in, I invariably see older folks and others who don't appear to have a lot of disposable cash. Coincidentally, the Duane Reade a block north has yet to undergo renovation --- it's still an "old" DR. So I wonder more about the economics of Third Avenue. There are a couple independent and excellent restaurants around 16th and 17th, and no shortage of foot traffic.

Still, the grocery business has notoriously thin margins and much competition; I'm surprised this Met lasted as long as it did.

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A worker confirmed the April closure to us. The worker didn't really seem to know why the grocery would be shutting down.

We exchanged emails with EVG reader Harry Weiner about the upcoming departure of Met Foods.

"It has been in the neighborhood for many years – one of the last old-school stores. It will be a great loss to many residents. Prices were reasonable," he said. "I'm sad about this. I live nearby and have been shopping there for about 18 years. There are many longtime employees who will lose their jobs.

"Frankly, it's my favorite neighborhood store because it's a vestige of a fading grocery store era and reminds me of my Brooklyn youth."

Met Foods was founded in 1941 in Syosset, Long Island. It was purchased by its current owner DiGiorgio Corporation in 1964-65.

Met Food lives

Good news from Scoopy's Notebook this week: "Met Food supermarket on Second Ave. and New York University have finally settled on a lease that will allow the market to keep serving the East Village customers who depend upon it and championed its cause so fiercely." (The Villager)



Now, perhaps, can they take down the sale sign for clam shell salads? I took this photo Aug. 30. And the sign was still up the last time I walked by...