The first paragraph of every story about Fairway’s current financial problems should outline how much was borrowed and what percentage of that was used to fund payments to the associated equity firms. The bankruptcy that exists isn’t about a company that slid into hard times. This is a balance sheet bankruptcy and the numbers were caused by loading the target with unjustified debt.
4
@From Where I Sit
Thanks for pointing out that the debt load was manufactured. I'm waiting for the NYT to do an investigative journalism on the trail of this debt, who took how much and who ended up with significant losses. I'd like to see names named. Thanks again.
New York as a concept, in the collective minds of native New Yorkers over the age of 19, no longer exists. Well, maybe it does in some of the outer boroughsz but not in any parts of Manhattan or "cool" Brooklyn. It would be better to stop kidding ourselves and just rename it generic billionaire playground. RIP NYC; I'll always love you.
1
I don't know how anyone can say shopping at Trader Joe's is a better experience than shopping at Fairway. Trader Joe's is awful.
2
I don't know why this saddens me. Not getting shoved by carts/stockers at Fairway was an on-going joke amongst friends. After a spinal fracture that required me to use a walker, I was still rudely shoved aside by staff and even a customer. At another period I wore a heart monitor (watch and chest strap combo) for cardio conditioning, and just for fun monitored my heart rate, and watched it zoom up to 120 BPM at peak hours before the Super Bowl.
I still recall with great fondness being able to buy lemon grass, obscure varieties of vegetables and fruit, and the only decent vegan bouillon cubes, but other than that and chatting up the rare friendly cashier with my infant and now teenage daughter, going to Fairway was always stressful. Even the restaurant, which always had top-rate food, was loud and abrasive until their recent attempts to make it quieter and more civilized. I thought TJ's would force them to clean up their act, and there were some improvements, but too little too late. RIP. I think.
1
Shopping at Fairway was like being a contestant in a demented game show. If you were looking for, I dunno, pasta sauce, you'd find one or two brands in one aisle, then ten minutes later, you'd spot six different brands in another aisle, then on your way to the checkout, you'd pass yet another pasta sauce section. It was like that for everything. There was zero logic to how the shelves were organized. The 'user experience' caused me to shop elsewhere, so I'm not surprised about their bankruptcy.
5
Low prices at Fairway?
3
“We have drinking fountains and bathrooms everywhere..." Really? What planet is Ms. Minsberg on? As an older woman at times in need of a toilet when I'm out and about, I've been refused more times than I can count. (In London, where I spend a fair amount of time, when I ask to use a toilet in any store or pub, I'm met with incredulity that I even have to ask. The answer is always "Yes".)
2
Declining quality, a low-overhead appearance with luxury prices, while expanding too quickly: Fairway's recipe for financial ruin.
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"A private equity firm, Blackstone Group" - let's pause a moment to contemplate how massively destructive this one company is. A nice local store with a couple of branches got purchased for an insanely inflated price, and the owner, which had created crazy debt, loaded the place with irrational expectations of profit, and then trashed it, jacking up prices, ruining its reputation.
Blackstone Group is vulture capitalism at its worst. How many nice American businesses have these "private equity firms" gutted? How many jobs lost, how many industries sold off to China?
6
@Eve S. I agree completely. The NYT should investigate in depth how Fairway (and other companies) have been loaded with debt and declared bankruptcy. Someone is making money on these deals and I'd like to know who they are and how much they're making.
1
“We have drinking fountains and bathrooms everywhere.” We do?!? Please tell me where these mythical bathrooms are, because even if you can find one in a park it’s usually quite gross and should be avoided if hygiene is something you at all care about.
4
FOOD COOPERATIVES ARE THE ONLY SUSTAINABLE MODEL.
1
I lived across the street from the 74th St. Fairway for almost 10 years. Although I appreciated the prices and variety I can’t say I ever had an enjoyable time shopping there. Indifferent help and cranky customers. Never a smile from either. I used to look down from my apartment to see when the fewest people were in view. On the day I was going to move away, the checkout clerk commented on how good my takeout looked. I was completely taken by surprise as no one had ever made eye contact with me during all those years!
3
When private equity firms buy businesses they know nothing about, this is the result. Carl Icahn and TWA, for example. What a shame. I hope my preferred market survives in some capacity. When greed displaces common sense...
8
See Joe Nocera's essay in Bloomberg about how private equity destroyed Fairway.
BTW if the 74th Street Fairway does close, it will be a completely negative change for the neighborhood. The loss of a unique neighborhood store as suburban chains have takeb over.
As for residents, there are now few local alternatives as West Side Market closed and before that, the Food Emporium.
There is no way to fit more people in Trader Joe's.
Other food stores are much further away, would require bus or subway for many. Citarella is a specialty store - not a food market.
If folks turn to delivery like Fresh Direct, there will be traffic gridlock.
And of course a nightmare for the employees who will lose their jobs.
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I shop at the Harlem store regularly and disagree with statements that the quality of the produce has declined. I have not found that to be the case at all. Ditto for meats, cheese, fish, and deli.
The only thing I have noticed is that they've cut back somewhat on the the bakery and on Fairyway branded products -- for instance they used to have their own brand of jams/preserves that was really good, and cheaper than the gourmet brands, but this is gone. I live in Washington Heights, and Fairway is vastly better than any store near me, and less expensive.
For the quality and savings, it's worth the schlep and the cab ride. I really hope they stay open and stay largely the same. If it is indeed bought by Village Super Market and they turn it into a bunch of Shop Rites, they might as well have gone chapter 7.
8
seems there's a mix of comments in this particular popout not limited to Fairway. What's going on?
On topic, Fairway is crowded, noisy, with subpar fruits and vegetables and poorly cut meat.
Whats happening to Fairway is no different than what happened to Food Emporium and most of the other supermarkets in the City. There are better ways to get quality groceries at a good price.
You can complain about Amazon/Whole Foods all you like but it is in fact exactly what people wish for: good quality at a reasonable price and delivered quickly (and FREE with prime) as well. In addition, I can source groceries from Amazon that I'm unable to find NYC stores.
1
@alocksley
There are some significant negatives associated with delivery:
1. Negative impact on the environment and traffic congestion as delivery means more vehicles on the road and more packaging.
2. Loss of walkable, neighborhood store.
3. Many people can't afford delivery, don't have room for bulk purchases.
2
The Fairway in Red Hook is lovely. Although it no longer carries jars of Devonshire Cream, it has terrific baguettes, the milk I like, and anything else I want.
Good for me but not for Fairway, the crowds have abated.
4
All this talk about the "beloved" Fairway seems to overlook the fact that it's not quite as beloved as it was before it went corporate. When the store consisted of one shop on the UWS, it was indeed beloved. In the past few years, though, the prices have gone (way) up for many items, and the customer service on the floor has become non-existent. I still shop there for some items, but I'm not going to pay $1 or $1.25 for a lemon when I can get one for 50 cents at the Jubilee Market or 39 cents at Trader Joe's.
12
@Swithin customer service? I love Fairway, but let's not romanticize the good old days. Even before the corporate takeover, customer service was indifferent at best. A Fairway worker once knocked a large glass container of apple juice off a shelf and into the stroller where my young daughter was sitting. Thankfully, it didn't hurt her. The worker just shrugged, picked up the bottle and continued working.
3
Anyone who has suffered the indignities of shopping at the 72nd Street Fairway recently, knows that the fun had gone out of it and the quality of the products went down.
That, in addition to all the other new alternatives (like Trader Joe's) have only hastened its demise -- whether it's rumored or not...Adieu.
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"Governor Cuomo said e-bikes and e-scooters would be legal in New York this year."
So, whom does a pedestrian sue when one of these things knocks you over and speeds away? Should the lawsuit be against Cuomo himself? He seems happy to approve something that certainly will never be a threat to him personally!
14
Village Super Markets owns a few ShopRites. But ShopRite has avoided opening up in Manhattan due to the small footprints and high rents. Manhattan could use bright clean well-stocked supermarkets like ShopRite. A 68,000 sf ShopRite is under construction in my neighborhood. Fairway was high-end but maybe it's replacement will be more mainstream.
4
@NYC Taxpayer Unlikely, unless the NYC Council gets off its butt and finally passes a decent commercial rent control law. More and more low-cost supermarkets are closing--leaving whole neighborhoods with either noting or Whole Paycheck, I mean Whole Foods. That's because the supermarket industry is a low-margin business. Spoilage, overstock, perishables - all it takes is a rent hike to force these stores to close.
1
Tune of ”My Way”
We heard the end was near
The rumors said that they were closing.
The truth we thought was here
It may be just idle supposing.
We’re thrilled that there is hope
And hope good things are coming their way.
That we won’t need to cope
Without our Fairway.
For what is this store? Not just some shop
Huge with a touch of mom-and-pop.
This place had style all to itself.
In every aisle, on every shelf.
Don’t let it close,
‘Cause goodness knows,
We love our Fairway.
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@Freddie
In Brooklyn too, we have it Fairway
1
@Leon Freilich, hope all is well! It was so great to read comments from your pet dog for a while. Our dog's a corgi with Hobbit-like paws and can't navigate the keys at all. I got the phone with the gigantic numbers for my folks in Florida when Dad turned 99, and incredibly, Dad's been dialing by himself more often rather than having Mom dial the call. (Maybe if I get a keypad like that for Liam, he'll get an account. He can wax poetic about breakfast like nobody's business, even though even he has trouble making it rhyme.)