The local pioneering health food market and grocery store, The Garden (921 Manhattan Ave.) closed on Friday after 25 years on the corner of Kent Street and Manhattan Avenue citing the rise of online shopping and corporate chains.
A note taped to the front of The Garden on Friday morning stated:
“Dear customers.
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I went through a period of being over-charged literally every single time I shopped there. So, I stopped shopping there. They went out of business because they were sneaky a-holes about their pricing. Also, their non-sneakiness of just straight up charging 20-25% more for everything compared to stores a block away. Who TF gets all their groceries online? FOH with that excuse. They forgot to mention that they spent like 8 years renting out and renovating a neighboring expansion that they never expanded to. Bye Felicia!
They are being sued by multiple employees for failure to pay wages! They are the sneakiest people in Greenpoint. Don’t believe a word of it.
I actually had the opposite experience. I had just bought a couple of basic items like cider vinegar at Associated. I stopped at the Garden for something else and found the exact same products for less. I shopped there because their produce was better than the area grocery stores, quality hot food and great cakes. Just hope the new store replacing it is of the same quality without ridiculous prices. BTW, I know several people in the neighborhood who grocery shop almost exclusively online.
Oh shut up
It’s a loss for the neighborhood.
Lots of items not available in the nearby vcinity.
I don’t believe that it was for lack of affluent customers
in this growing & gentryfying area–
most likely a personal issue with the owner instead.
I feel fot the staff, especially at this time of year.
Hope someone similar will take it over quickly,
since the closing was sudden, with not even a closing sale to sell out
the considerable stock.
The multi-year elevator project at the G train Greenpoint Avenue station did not help. It blocked off much of the street space on this block. It really does a number on all the nearby stores. It’s a great addition for the elderly & moms with strollers, but when will it be completed?
I never was into their organic stuff, too expensive but was a regular patron of the hot bar and sandwich area which were more reasonably priced and hi quality.
I am concerned re the loss of jobs of the many workers there mainly polish and hispanic immigrants.
if you talk to five people they give you five different answer as to when, who, what will happen to the retail space. Supposedly it is supposed to open this wed dec 6 in some reincarnation of the old store. I will believe it when I see it.
I shopped at The Garden almost weekly when I lived in Williamsburg and drove from Park Slope perhaps monthly after I moved. But as Andy wrote, “I went through a period of being over-charged literally every single time I shopped there.” And it wasn’t just that I was over-charged, but the way in which the owners treated me like it was my mistake when I brought an item back. The Garden was in many ways a pricey specialty shop and that model can work in an ethnic-slash-gentrifying neighborhood, but not with shabby service.
Such a sad loss for the community. The Garden was a great boost to the neighborhood when it opened 25 years ago. It inspired me to move back to the neighborhood. We will miss the great food and the kind friendly staff. So sorry to see you go. Our collective loss.
Will miss The Garden! Was a great store. Would have been nice to know to say Goodbye to staff you get to know over the yrs. Good luck to them all! What will I eat now?? LOL [and Natural Garden. ]
I heard this was more of a labor dispute, that they did not pay their workers a living wage, sometimes under the table and sometimes below minimum wage. So the note they left is disingenuous.
I also heard that they closed suddenly as a way to lay-off everyone at once at that it will basically be the same owners once it re-opens. This is all “heard from a friend who heard it from a friend” information, but worth investigating.
Seems like something is for sure off about how they closed, the store was fully stocked the day before and seems like they would have had a week of specials or something to clear inventory and not waste food. Stores like that don’t just immediately close that way.
I remember when they replaced Honig’s (?) Dept. Store. Time marches on.
This was all a charade. They reopened under a different name and with all the same employees. They are even saying that they have the same ‘recipes’. They tried to play us for fools. this is ridiculous. It is the same store. These people are awful. It is why I turned to Amazon and Fresh Direct.