Gristedes Gutted, Brooklyn Heights Nervously Awaits Rebirth

By on May 6, 2008 9:53 pm in Brooklyn Heights

The fire damaged Henry Street Gristedes is under going what appears to be a total gut renovation.  Photos posted on McBrooklyn today show that the store has been stripped down to its bare bones.  While we’ve all slammed “Grosstedes” in the past,  life without it has been a real pain in the arse to say the least.  How hopeful are you that this incident — which a commenter on Racked says is the Lord working in mysterious ways — will result in a better shopping experience once the store reopens?

Photo: McBrooklyn

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  • Andrew Porter

    It’s weird how they’ve carefully covered over the Henry Street windows so you can’t see into Gristede’s, yet left the windows on the Pineapple Walk side totally exposed so you can see the insides of the gutted place. The windows on the Pineapple Walk side were the back of the refrigerated food aisle. When Pineapple Walk was built, it was originally planned to have a series of small shops with their entrances on the Walk. Instead, Gristede’s painted over the windows, transforming the southern side of PW into a featureless alley.

  • No One Of Consequence

    How old is that photo? Was it taken pre-fire? yukyukyuk

  • miky

    Maybe Catsimidis will give the Heights a beautiful supermarket and win all of our votes, thus establishing his mayoral platform. We should encourage that line of thinking.

  • elle thomson

    we can only hope that a gut renovation will result in a clean, upscale market with FRESH not expired products!!!!!!

  • Poulenc

    Well, far better to have gutted the place and to begin from scratch than to have “tidied up” and gone ahead selling.

    One hopes that some better organization of fresher, more desirable products, not to mention a cleaner, brighter, more, er, fragrant space, is the result.

    I fear, in any case, that we’ll be well into summer before the reborn Gristede’s debuts.

  • Curmudgeon

    I wish for the best, but I brace for the reality. The prices will still be high. The staff will still be a “pip” to deal with and most of all – the mildewed mop will most likely survive to spread its smell anew.

  • Luke C

    While I hope they surrender and anything else moves in, I expect that a year from now we’ll all be shopping at Gristede’s despite their random prices, erratic selection & surly staff only because it’s convenient.

    But for now I’m enjoying the justified Zipcar to Fairway trips.

  • Loving Brooklyn

    I just wish they would sell the space to Whole Foods. It would be great to get off the train and have access to fresh food at decent prices. Even if we did have a Whole Foods, I would always shop at Garden of Eden and Key Foods, and maybe get wine and desserts from Trader Joes when it comes. It would just save me a trip to Manhattan. I’m not going to go to the Red Hook Whole Foods (if they ever build it), because we can’t get to it via reliable public transportation. Multiple good quality grocery stores would not hurt this area. Not only would it be great for us Brooklyn Heighters, it would be an asset to the municipal workers, as well as DUMBO and Vinegar Hill residents.

    Any one want to start a write in campaign with me? Also, does anyone know the hours of the farmer’s market? I tried to look it up on the internet but it is not well-advertised.

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    If you are speaking of the farmer’s market around borough hall, it is open 8am-6pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays year-round, Thursdays from April 3rd to December 18th. I found the info on the borough hall greenmarket on the CENYC website.

  • nancy

    The Traders Joe’s that willopen here will not be selling wine, if I recall.
    Addtionally, while I would love more of a choice in grocery stores, opening a Whole Foods would definitely not benefit the municipal workers, as they could not afford to shop there!

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    Nancy, where are the municipal workers shopping now?

    I have found the Whole Foods stores in Manhattan to be cheaper than the Garden Of Eden on Montague.

  • Loving Brooklyn

    Most municipal workers actually make a decent salary. As Qfwfq mentioned Whole Foods prices are sometimes cheaper than our local grocery stores. I am a fan of shopping at every grocery to get the best quality and price. I never frequent Gristedes because they can’t beat any of our local or Manhattan grocers on those two points. I know that I am unlike most people since I do not mind making multiple trips to grocery stores to get the best price on a box of Sugar in the Raw or a special organic pizza or handmade raviolli. By the way, Key Foods beats everyone on Sugar in the Raw if you are interested.

  • nancy

    Depands on the municipal workers. If you are talking about the lawyers, most make about 75-80k, clericals between 25-50. Most city workers don’t shop at Garden of Eden either. I am a municipal worker myself. They will shop in their own neighborhoods. I would too, if I could get things for $1-$2 cheaper per item!! Why go to Gristede’s when you can go to the local green grocer on the corner that every area in the outer borough has?