Grosstedes Does It Again

By on August 28, 2007 9:00 pm in Food, News

grosstedes.JPG

This from a BHB tipster:

Check out the "sell by" date on this container of milk: August 22. That's OK if I didn't buy it TODAY from Gristedes on Henry Street (pic attached with receipt).  Isn't that illegal to have this on their shelves? I called the store and they offered a refund if I walked all the way back. (They claimed no one was around to deliver) That's exactly what I want to do after working all day. Yes, I should have double checked the date when I picked it up. But I'd like to think that once in a while someone competent works at that store.

Any other "mishaps" at Gristedes?

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  • Maroon

    Unless it’s late, I just trek down to the Garden of Eden or the Perelanda (sp?). they are expensive, but tidy. I’ve been to a Trader Joe’s in Virginia and was not impressed, and Fairway is only useful to get things in bulk, no?

  • Jen

    Add my vote to the “yes, grocery stores in the neighborhood suck and shouldn’t” side. We order Fresh Direct and when we have time and access to a car we go to Fairway in Red Hook. Or we go to Garden of Eden for anything fresh. Grosstede’s and Key Food are disgusting and I would never buy anything unpackaged there.

  • GHB

    Maroon, Fairway’s not only good for buying bulk, but if you go there from BH, you would be better off buying in bulk, since it’s such a pain in the ass to get to. I wouldn’t go there just to pick up a carton of milk. But if I did, I bet it wouldn’t be curdled like in Grosstede’s!

  • nabeguy

    Beth, that’s not a spelling error, it’s the small section that Gristedes reserves for customers who acutally like the place.
    And 4U, I’m just curious to know if you were a member of the clerks union. I only ask because, besides the customers, it seems to be the biggest thing that the clerks at Gristedes and Key Food complain about.

  • cranberry

    My favorite is when you buy a steak there that looks somewhat decent and you get it home and take it out of the package and find that they put the brown/green side face down. I was appalled to see that they now offer “sushi” in their “seafood department”. As far as their prices…i don’t even know where they come up with them. A bag of Stacy’s pita chips, which i happen to be addicted to, are $4.99 at Gristede’s and $1.99 at Fairway??? My fiance and i will go in there at least once a week trying to find something to make for dinner. We walk around for 15 minutes and then look at eachother and say “Peas and Pickles?” and leave. Everytime!!! It’s hilarious. The place just sucks, and the people that work there are always yelling and screaming at eachother, talking shit about customers and eachother…It would make a great SNL skit.

  • ChrisC

    Just to clarify, I do not think anyone should expect poor service or products. I was just pondering the comment about “positive suggestions for improving futures”… maybe not relating directly back to the Gristedes shopping experiences..I’ll be more clear next time…

  • steve

    On the positive side, we have Heights Prime Meats. In addition to very good meat and poultry, they have pasta, fresh mozzarella, fresh bread and rolls and lots of other good stuff. Too bad they close at seven o’clock. (Oh, and another positive thing . . . Gristede’s has smelled less foul lately. It’s a small step, I realize, but one in the right direction.)

  • GHB

    Yes, Heights Prime Meats is good, but they stopped selling roasted chickens! And they were good! Guess I’ll have to learn to cook…

  • http://24gotham.com/ Devyn

    I recently moved here from Chicago, and while I expected prices to be higher, I was in a state of shock to find products I was familiar with, priced at 40-80% higher than what I was used to paying. I don’t know what kind of crack they are smoking when they come up with such prices. (Example: “Newmans Own” cookies, Chicago: about $3.49, over at Peas and Pickles, $3.99, Gristede’s $5.29) (Another example: plain water crakers at Trader Joes, $1.49; at Whole Foods, $2.29; at Gristede’s, $3.99) Every time I go there I feel as though I am being raped with a splintery 4×4 as they get away with charging such bullsh*t prices (which is why I almost never go now).

    And while higher rents can account for somewhat higher prices, it is absolutely no excuse for poor service and filthy dirty stores. Just because the clerks behind the counter may not be happy with their life choices (re; working as a cashier), doesn’t mean I should be treated like crap.

  • GHB

    “And while higher rents can account for somewhat higher prices, it is absolutely no excuse for poor service and filthy dirty stores. Just because the clerks behind the counter may not be happy with their life choices (re; working as a cashier), doesn’t mean I should be treated like crap.”

    You don’t like filthy and rude? Who invited you to New York?

  • AliG

    Gristedes is the worst, it always smells like rotting flesh. I’ve seen roaches running around the store. The people at the cash registers are all Americans but can barely grunt in intelligible English. They are nasty, rude, ugly. I know I shouldn’t expect much in the way of “customer service” living in New York but they are beyond tolerable rude levels..
    I haven’t been back there in 3 years. I live on the corner of Clark and Henry…I walk to Key Food instead.

  • JL

    Hey Homer, since you probably “own” this discussion, how bout sending it over to the Gristedes Consumer Advocate; and no, I am not kidding. Or, each of us could send it over individually. Even if nothing comes of it (other than annoying the hell out of them), the service can’t get worse, right?

    ConsumerAdvocate@gristedes.com

    http://www.gristedes.com/customerservice.asp

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    In discussing food shopping options, I’m surprised no one has mentioned the Greenmarket, which is in business on Cadman Plaza roughly from Remsen to Pierrepont every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Lately we’ve been enjoying fresh ears of sweet corn from Stan-Pat Farms on Long Island, beefsteak tomatoes and greens from New Jersey, and peaches and berries from Wiklow Orchards in the Hudson Valley. Bakers Bounty and Not Just Rugelach both offer excellent baked goods; the latter also has outstanding beef and chicken empanadas.

    Sahadi’s is also an outstanding source, not only for Middle Eastern and Mediterranean specialty items, but also for some British goods like tea and biscuits (cookies), and, of course, for nuts, seeds, dried fruits, spices and coffee.

    We live on Montague, so Key Food is our “local” for much staple shopping. In general, I’ve found it satisfactory. Produce is sometimes a bit past prime, but I’ve never found meat or dairy products on the shelf past sell-by date. A few days ago I went to the deli counter and was greeted by a man I hadn’t seen before. I asked him for a half pound of bologna; he said, “Sliced thin, medium or thick?” I said “thin”; he cut a slice and asked me if it was right. When he had finished cutting, he arranged the slices carefully in two rows in the plastic envelope. I hope to see him again.

  • http://brooklynenthusiast.blogspot.com/ Brooklyn Enthusiast

    IMHO, it comes down to quality control… something not in place at many food retail stores. While I have never had a bad experience at Whole Foods, I have gotten bad meat everywhere from Stop & Shop to Fresh Direct, although both have been happy to give refunds. It’s more annoying. From the Peas and Pickles in DUMBO, the fruit is often moldy and I got milk the other day that had no top. Like the twist cap was gone. I know I should have checked, but you just shouldn’t have to, right? Key Foods is just gross, btw.

  • No One of Consequence

    I never buy the store packaged meats at either Key Food or Gristedes. I’m too scared. So I buy the name-brand, factory packaged goods. Who knows, the conditions may be just as bad, but at least I haven’t witnessed it. It’s a psychological thing.

  • GHB

    Claude Scales, Just Rugelach sells empanadas? That’s like Just Bulbs selling lampshades!
    Seriously, I try to get to the greenmarket on Saturdays, the only time I can get there. Same goes for Sahadi. Love that store. Too bad they close on Sunday and evenings. You know the vacant store where Golden Hangers left? I’d love to see a good fish market (like Fish Tales) move in. It would be perfect right next door to the butcher. Then we wouldn’t have to rely so much on crappy supermarkets.

  • beth

    How late can you visit the greenmarket on the weekdays?

  • JR

    Whole neighborhood’s afflicted w/the “captive audience=lack of service” sort of mentality. I’d rather deal w/internet ordering than engage in any discussion w/a cashier at these stores (this includes Duane Reade, CVS, and Rite Aid). Makes me wonder whether these cashiers are unpaid parolees on a work release program. Granted there are some equally annoying customers that they have had to deal with (I’ve stood behind them in amazement wondering if I’m actually being Punk’d or on Candid Camera), but not to the extent that you’d be upset every customer who merely wishes to pay for the items in their basket?

    Also, on the topic of aged food. Got a nice vintage 2001 Bud from the Chinese restaurant next to the pizzeria that had the windows covered while they were on vacation (probably to keep the rats inhabiting the place out of view from the pizza eating locals). The restaurant was gracious enough not to include the Bud on my bill.

  • LTindaBH

    Wonder what’ll happen when Trader Joe’s waltzes in. My feeling that the service & quality at the local supermarkets will have to improve…although there are clearly items TJ’s won’t carry, I actually go to the TJ’s in Union Square. I noticed that they have completely blinged out the Food Emporium that’s across the street from that TJ’s, and, get this, they have a self-serve auto checkout. Very Tokyo-esque. It needs some tweaking, but, hey, scanning and bagging my own stuff, I can do!

  • Maroon

    JR, I would think prisoners on work release would be more pleasant and appreciative of the job.

    Whole Foods are horrible union-busters, and their CEO is a piece of work (goes online and trashes the stock of a company he’s trying to buy).

    There’s a good market on Court and Pacific, btw. I was there a few days ago. It looks like a generic deli outside.

  • nabeguy

    Wow, Homer. And you thought that only the CoC threads could get this long!

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    GHB: Sorry, I misstated the name. It’s actually “Not Just Rugelach.”

    I agree; a good seafood store would be a great addition to the neighborhood.

    Beth: The official hours for the Greenmarket are 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. As with all such operations, it’s best to get to the
    Greenmarket early, as supplies are limited and things do get picked over. In my experience, most of the stalls are closed by 4:30 or so. If you have a day job and your commute is short, you might be able to get some shopping in early; otherwise, you’re limited to Saturdays.

  • http://24gotham.com/ Devyn

    From LTindaBH “I noticed that they have completely blinged out the Food Emporium that’s across the street from that TJ’s, and, get this, they have a self-serve auto checkout. Very Tokyo-esque. It needs some tweaking, but, hey, scanning and bagging my own stuff, I can do!”

    Self-serve checkouts have been pretty prevalent in a majority of the rest of the US for several years, NYC business owners are very slow to adopt new technology. (Or give more than $20.00 cash back with a debit card, WTF? Most of the rest of the country can get $100 back at the grocery or drugstore.)

  • hoppy

    Just to add one more vittle to this marathon thread, I’ve always marveled at how the thermometer on the very warm-seeming refrigerated shelves of organic produce at the Montague Key Food (which are just to your left as you walk in), has been consistently over 50 degrees. Today I noticed a plastic container of guacamole there with a very noticeable “pregnant” lid. Fortunately, today I’ve also witnessed laborers working furiously to remove debris from the Indybank/future Trader Joes space.

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