Perelandra Going Out of Business

By on September 18, 2024 2:34 pm in 11201, Brooklyn Heights, Commercial Real Estate, Food, Local Businesses, News, Shopping

Perelandra Natural Foods, 175 Remsen Street, in business in Brooklyn Heights since 1976, will be closed permanently following close of business this Sunday. The news was broken by reader “Banet” on Open Thread Wednesday, who is quoted in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as saying a cashier at the store said Perelandra hadn’t lost its lease but that it couldn’t afford a rent increase. The cashier also said the departure of St. Francis College had hurt business, as faculty and staff were regular customers. The Eagle story gives other local residents’ reactions to the news.

Correction (9/19/24): Perelandra is closing on Sunday 9/29/24. An employee also mentioned that the opening of FoodTown on Clinton Street was the “final nail on the coffin.” Here’s the letter to customers posted on their door today.

Perelandra2

 

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  • Jorale-man

    Picking up this convo from open thread, I wonder if the opening of Food Town took away some of their business. Yes, FT is not a health food store but I imagine some people shopped at Perelandra simply because it was convenient and nearby. And that block of Remsen is looking increasingly forlorn.

  • Banet

    I said the same thing to my wife.

    It’s not like the audience for the two stores overlaps 100%, but even if 2% or 3% of the customers that were in the area and needed to grab some milk or a dozen eggs and didn’t really care about the ethos of the store? You may have gone to Perelandra for convenience instead of going another block north to Fresh Start (still Garden of Eden to me) but now you find Food Town equally convenient and much better priced.

    And while 3% may not sound like a lot, margins are razor thin in the supermarket business.

    I also think their location hurt them. All the new residents of the new apartment towers on Montague and Clinton? They likely never had a reason to walk down that block as they’re hardly anything there. A yoga studio and a coffee shop is about it.

    NYSC closing.
    Hale & Hearty closing.
    St. Francis closing.
    Covid.
    Food Town.

    They’re all paper cuts that add up. :-/

  • LP

    This is so, so devastating!!! Really wondering where I can get all my groceries of the same quality now.

  • Peter Scott-Thomas

    You make some good points, but let's REALLY think outside the box. There WERE a few video stores (VHS tapes mostly for 5-10 years, wouldja believe?) in Brooklyn Heights, and Netflix began by mailing out DVD's. To almost anyone living in 2024, that's every bit as quaint as "buggy whips."

    How long will it be before it becomes idiotic to sell what FT and Perelandra both sell – granted, there are some importance differences between them – from "storefronts," especially ones occupying thousands of sq. feet?!

    Imagine if Amazon or Fresh Direct took over the big empty (old CVS) space at Clinton & Montague and put in lockers that let people eliminate some or all of their "supermarket runs!"

    In this neighborhood & forum, a couple of vocal people will aver: "I WOULD NEVER. . ." but I think they're kidding themselves.

    Nobody PREFERS a laundromat to having a washer-dryer in their apt. THAT one isn't always legal or practical, but brick-and-mortar grocery stores barely make more sense than BH having (not any more!) 3-6 big chain drug stores, when almost everything on their shelves can be delivered next day. For a lot less, because you don't have to compensate CVS for what it loses to shoplifters.

    There's a pet-oriented store on Court that all but BEGS people to shop there, because HE "is raising a family in the community." His doors are still open – and maybe, that's wonderful at some level, but … how much longer will he survive when the economics are so very bad?

    You gotta "know when to fold 'em," and I wish the owners of Perelandra well – they're sound of mind … AND they've served our community well for many years. But it's a different world than when they were a startup!

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Nothing lasts forever and 48 years is a great run. Most regular supermarkets carry organic produce and dry goods are available online for less than they charged.
    Sure it was convenient in a pinch but obsolescence, is what it is.

  • Jorale-man

    Good analysis. I wonder about the coffee shop on Remsen now. The block's problems are self-reinforcing too – it feels less welcoming (and clean!) as more storefronts sit empty….

  • Jorale-man

    Yes, competition from delivery is a big issue for every type of retail. That said, I've mostly stopped getting Fresh Direct – which I started in 2020 when it became unsafe to go into stores – now that Food Town is close to me. I miss FD a bit, but it saves a lot of money not paying delivery fees and tips.

  • Banet

    Thank you for the compliment. In chatting with my spouse earlier I also came to the realization that Remsen Street is even less of a through street than I realized.

    If you’re headed to the 2/3 you likely walk up Montague Street. If you’re headed to the 4/5 you likely walk up draw Iman Street.

    Why would you ever walk up Remsen Street? I bet you 50% of the residents who have moved to the neighborhood in the last five years I’ve never even heard of Perelandra.

  • Banet

    I have used FreshDirect a few times on and off ever since they launched. Friends have told me incredibly positive things about the quality of their produce and meat. But when I tried it for the first time in several years last month I was shocked at how incredibly inconsistent the quality of the produce was.

    I understand how convenient it might be for some busy people but I’m fortunate to have the time to be able to pick my produce by hand.

  • Jorale-man

    Yes, I've found FreshDirect's produce to be a little variable at times. Things from their fish counter or deli are usually of excellent quality. Sometimes the soft items like bread arrive smushed, and there's a lot of packaging that feels wasteful. That said, I am grateful to their workers for their hard work (and no doubt risking their health) at the height of the pandemic.

  • Lance Rutledge

    I stopped shopping at Perelandra years ago because even compared to Whole Foods, it’s prices were very high. And just in the past year when I’ve stopped in, I was shocked at the prices.
    There’s nothing there I can’t buy elsewhere for less…
    They may have done themselves in because of that.
    & by the way, FoodTown’s prices are high as well.
    Nobody out does TraderJoes for prices and customer service… Two essential issues.

    So I guess I won’t miss them.

    Lance Rutledge. Boerum Hill

  • Andrew Porter

    The only thing I bought there in recent years was Organic Lactose Free milk—and Key Food has started carrying it as well.

    The main reason I shopped there for so many years was the name. And when I see people walking home with Perelandra tote bags, I ask if they know where the name comes from—then explain.

    BTW, Crain's NY Business interviewed me yesterday about the closing.

  • Andrew Porter

    I've made it a point to shop locally, for food and other things. Never use Amazon, for instance, and always try to buy books from independent bookstores.

  • Jorale-man

    I try to as well, though not everything can be found locally without a lot of hunting. If the choice is between Amazon and CVS (or Walgreens, Lowes, etc.) then one is mainly choosing between corporate behemoths. But for other things, definitely local.

  • clarknt67

    It will get worse before it gets better with a year of demolition and after that probably two years of construction on the block.

  • clarknt67

    When CVS and Walgreens starting locking everything up I stopped buying toiletries from them and started ordering from Amazon. Ain’t nobody got time to chase down their two overworked employees.

  • clarknt67

    I could never afford that place. Sad to see it go though.

  • Andrew Porter

    Don't know if you noticed, but the Key now has a big toiletries area, at the left front.

  • Banet

    The store was indeed extremely expensive, but there were a number of items that were well priced — including pretty much everything in their “cold” room and certain produce items.

    Moreover, they offered an extremely broad array of items that can’t be found anywhere for miles around — if anywhere at all. So sad to lose it.

  • Banet

    Yep. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the Perelandra building gets torn down too. After all the upgrades on Montague between Clinton and Court, it’s one of the last mediocre 1950s/1960s buildings left in the neighborhood.