249617 Fri May 19 00:36:16 -0700 2006 43 19 Outer Boroughs 0 1327453 FAIRWAY opened its doors in Red Hook Brooklyn this week housed in a very attractive rehabbed block of warehouses. An attractive addition to this run down mostly abandoned neighborhood. A convenient location with a huge parking lot and gorgeous harbor and City views. The lack of a decent supermarket in Brownstone Brooklyn has been a drawback for residents. Shopping at crappy Key Food and Gristedes has been a downer. Now we have our own real supermarket like the rest of America... and much more! The new market will serve all of Brooklyn, and there is even a WaterTaxi from Manhattan on weekends. The produce section is enormous, with products looking very fresh and tempting, with prices to match. The fish department has a huge selection of fresh fish at good, competitive prices .American Jumbo Shrimp $5.99 per pound. The meat selection is outstanding, with Murrays "natural" chickens at $.99 per pound. There is everything that FAIRWAY in Manhattan has and much more. FAIRWAY is not a mega corporation with smug "socially conscious" pretentions. It is a family owned long standing New York business that has beautifully modified existing architecture and created an exceptional site. It employs a large number of people and will bring a much needed employment boost to this area of the world. Fri May 19 00:36:16 -0700 2006 0 Fleur 1 1327460 As a long time resident of Red Hook I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I actually was able to buy borscht, and machego cheese and cornichons - on Van Brunt Street! I also spoke briefly with a manager who said that 95% of the employees were Brooklynites, 85% from Red Hook. Fri May 19 08:42:29 -0700 2006 1327453 0 Scott Berkman 2 1327466 words can't express how amazing it is to see this place in my old neighborhood as well! beautiful food, friendly employees, a family establishment, amazing prices, unique products, the list goes on and on and on! do yourselves a favor and visit! get some smoked salmon ends for incredibly reasonable prices (smoked, i believe, on premesis), some beautiful produce (heirloom tomatoes) and some cheese and have a party! bbq this weekend! Fri May 19 10:02:30 -0700 2006 1327460 0 mrb 3 1327503 I was overwhelmed, too, just walking around with my mouth open. What an incredible store! I am a member of the Park Slope Food coop, and LOVE the coop, but was shocked to come to grips with just how hard the coop actually is. Between parking issues, long lines, and no debit card payment, each shopping trip is a major undertaking. I still love the coop -- and wish Fairway had more small farms/local foods (is it really necessary to fly organic eggs to us from Orgeon?) -- but I wonder what this means for the coop. I expect some serious attrition in the next few months. Fri May 19 16:45:32 -0700 2006 1327466 0 southsloper 4 1327513 I am not a big fan of the coop. Not the concept, not the physical plant, not the smug superior attitude of the place. The variety and quality is kinda iffy, and the prices are no bargain. The attitude there is also a joke. Add the issues you mentioned, and I agree, there will be changes. I don't think they can compete as they are now. Hopefully, Fairway will serve as an example to other businesses . They are a 4th generation family owned business with a proven dedication to quality. They have made their site beautiful and historically in keeping with the setting, employing lots of locals (85% of employees according to the Brooklyn Eagle). Their prices are very reasonable. Their prices are quite a bit lower than Key Food and Gristedes.The aim is to service all the people of Brooklyn. Hopefully, the big national corporations like Ikea and Whole Foods who plan to install big box outlets in the area will get the message. Fri May 19 21:32:02 -0700 2006 1327503 0 JPanda 5 1327542 So I'm not the only one who has issues with the Coop elite. Sat May 20 22:15:18 -0700 2006 1327513 0 MrsT 6 1327549 went to fairway saturday & was overwhelmed with happiness! great vibe. it is great to see the majority of the employees from the red hook community, and many of the customers from red hook. fairway is a win-win sitution: the entire community now has a supermarket with healthy, affordable food & choice, job oppurtunities with a great company. sorry met food, key food and all you other guys, i've been at your mercy for too many years. welcome fairway! Sun May 21 11:52:16 -0700 2006 1327542 0 mag 7 1327560 Went to FAIRWAY on Thursday and Friday! Sad to say but I will have to bit farewell to the COOP as well. I love the COOP but since I have to work my as well as my husband's shifts, and it just doesn't make any sense any more now that we have this great store. I felt like a little kid in a candy store. And more than once I overheard customers saying to the staff that they felt like they had gone to heaven. My sentiments exactly. Everything is fresh, and the selection is just out of this world, but I guess I am preaching to the choir. Sun May 21 16:23:47 -0700 2006 1327549 0 ggorden 8 1327658 Does anyone know the store hours during the week. The website doesn't have the hours or a direct number for the Brooklyn location yet. Tue May 23 16:31:30 -0700 2006 1327560 0 neeceediallo 9 1327680 The website has a copy of the flyer which has the hours on page 1. (8 AM to 10 PM every day) Tue May 23 20:51:37 -0700 2006 1327658 0 bobjbkln 5 1327638 I can understand if you have some issues with the layout and some of the people at the coop, but saying "The variety and quality is kinda iffy, and the prices are no bargain" is simply absurd. Enjoy spending 40 to 70 percent more. Link: http://www.muckraked.com Tue May 23 12:25:07 -0700 2006 1327513 0 josh L 6 1327644 At Fairway? Tue May 23 13:46:48 -0700 2006 1327638 0 Sir Gawain 7 1327648 I love Fairway but if your looking for organic and local produce, and good quality meats and chicken without hormones and antibiotics, the coop can't be beat. I'm sure Fairway may beat them on Dole fruits and Tide, Bounty paper towels, it really depends on what you are looking for. To be fair, Fairway seems to also have a more extensive cheese selection, but its not necessary cheaper or of better quality. Tue May 23 14:12:27 -0700 2006 1327644 0 josh L 8 1327674 I am most certainly not in the "Fairway=Heaven" camp, but I do find the Co-op obnoxious in just so many ways... but whatever, everyone likes something different. I shop at a mixture of local (Carroll Gardens) stores, farmers' markets (Boro Hall and USQ - more for fun than anything else), and the occasional (gasp) FreshDirect order. Works OK. Tue May 23 18:51:12 -0700 2006 1327648 0 Sir Gawain 9 1327688 that's what i would do if i wasn't a member of the coop. the coop can be a bit much at times, but if your into cooking and good food, it's one the best options around. Wed May 24 09:11:33 -0700 2006 1327674 0 josh L 10 1327738 It is great that there are so many options now in Brooklyn. I love Fairway. and I will now shop there instead of Key Food ,Gristedes and Garden of Eden for most things. I don't appreciate the smug attitude at the Coop. I think trying to push a lifestyle and political agenda is not the way food shopping should be. Wed May 24 17:57:06 -0700 2006 1327688 0 Audrey 4 1327551 I think Fairway is great for Red Hook, and for people looking to drive to their grocery shopping. I love that they have a huge selection of organics. I can only hope people who find themselves *suffering* at the Coop go to Fairway instead. The Coop has been waiting for natural attrition to happen for years - the place was up to 13,000 members last time I asked. People unhappy with it should just shop elsewhere. Soooooo simple! Obviously, I'm a Coop member too, and totally welcome the Red Hook Fairway. I bought some stuff the Coop doesn't carry on a fun Fairway roadtrip that I have NO intention of repeating weekly. : ) For the first time I had the experience of tooooo much choice - sweet jesus, they have an enormous space, and appear to carry everything in each maker's product line. It's the best conventional grocery store ever! It was totally fun, but I actually don't need 500 kinds of jam, tea, or whatever. It made me appreciate the coop a little more. The first thing I noticed was the lack of 'place of origin' labeling (standard at the coop) -- local is important to me. Additionally, I like the Coop's + curated selection, knowing that the goods turn over every week or more. There just isn't the space to keep things in storage + cleanliness -- and it never smells bad like most grocery stores + cheaper prices. One product I use regularly, $5 at coop, $8 at Fairway. Fairway has great specials, and overall pricing that's more than fair (hope Whole Foods is paying attention!), but the Coop is a totally different model. Link: http://www.psfc.blogspot.com/ Sun May 21 12:59:57 -0700 2006 1327503 0 pitu 5 1327565 Hard to imagine someone complaining about too much choice. Fairway gives you a huge choice at very reasonable prices. No attitude, no lifestyle, no politics, just great food. I love the architecture of the pre-Civil War Coffe warehouse they refitted. It contributes a lot to the area, as does the 85% hiring of locals. The coop has no parking and does not take credit cards which is not a good policy. Maybe they will shape up. Sun May 21 17:43:33 -0700 2006 1327551 0 JPanda 6 1327589 the coop does not need to "shape up." it has over 13,000 thousand members and is growing faster then any time in its history. the new fairway is a welcome addition to brooklyn but will not effect the coop's future growth, as its in red hook and doesn't really specialize in organic, local produce. the coop is also considerbly cheaper, especially on the organic produce. There is plenty of room in Brooklyn for a dozen Fairway's. Maybe Pathmark should take notice. Link: http://www.muckraked.com Mon May 22 11:02:34 -0700 2006 1327565 0 josh L 7 1327629 I am grateful that Fairway has come to Brooklyn offering residents an alternative to the crummy supermarkets we have had for years. The beautiful fresh produce and variety of meat, fish, and chicken, as well as fresh dairy products encourage people to cook more enjoy food more. People in low income neighborhoods who have been ripped off with higher prices for years now have a nice place to shop at reasonable prices. Food shopping has been turned by some into a cult-like experience. We like our food shopping to be in a politics free zone. Tue May 23 04:28:06 -0700 2006 1327589 0 JPanda 3 1327512 I was overwhelmed, too, just walking around with my mouth open. What an incredible store! I am a member of the Park Slope Food coop, and LOVE the coop, but was shocked to come to grips with just how hard the coop actually is. Between parking issues, long lines, and no debit card payment, each shopping trip is a major undertaking. I still love the coop -- and wish Fairway had more small farms/local foods (is it really necessary to fly organic eggs to us from Orgeon?) -- but I wonder what this means for the coop. I expect some serious attrition in the next few months. Fri May 19 21:29:35 -0700 2006 1327466 0 southsloper 4 1327756 Don't give up just yet -- My girlfriend is a militant vegan and she was very 'thumbs down' concerning the freshness of Fairway's produce (the lettuce definitely looked sad and the organic apple selection was underwhelming) -- so although the organic section faired somewhat better, the regular veggies were very much in need of replenishment. Of course, it could be first-week jitters, but I wonder about the other stores (We are Fairway newbies.) j. Thu May 25 00:02:46 -0700 2006 1327512 0 j. 5 1327773 Fairway does not have great produce, in fact it never has. I'll say it again. If your into super fresh organic produce, local when available at low prices, the psfc is the best option in NYC. The only comparable place I've ever been to is the Berkeley Bowl in Cali. I know it's not for everyone but I don't know how, if your into food and live in the hood, you could refrain from joining. Link: http://www.muckraked.com Thu May 25 10:36:49 -0700 2006 1327756 0 josh L 6 1327801 The produce at Fairway is very good and the prices are reasonable. The ease of shopping, large parking lot and accepting credit cards are essential to modern commerce. Fairway is for everyone. The elitist attitude of the Coop is not. Joining something like the Coop with a lifestyle and political philosophy to buy food is anathema to my independent capitalist way of thinking. Thu May 25 16:32:29 -0700 2006 1327773 0 JPanda 7 1327814 JPanda, have you noticed on this board that most people give their opinion then sit back and let others give theirs? It's a nice community that way. We get that you hate the Coop. How many times do you have to post to this thread to say the same thing over and over again? An astonishing cross-section of NYers of all economic, religious, and cultural stripes do their time and buy their dinner at the Park Slope Food Coop because the Coop has a relationship to local farmers and gets fantastically good produce which they sell at 22% above wholesale cost. The buyers are practically religious about researching the products -- I know I can trust the organic free-range label on the meat there, and it doesn't cost $20/lb. The cheese is excellent AND cheap. The whole store has higher than average turnover so everything is fresh. All that produce is picked over by member-workers operating in their own self-interest, so the stuff we buy there is all good. What is past its prime but usable is donated to City Harvest and a local soup kitchen. Sounds like good capitalism to me . . . Thu May 25 20:31:43 -0700 2006 1327801 0 pitu 8 1327867 thanks. nice post. Fri May 26 21:48:58 -0700 2006 1327814 0 redgirl 8 1327905 My issue with the Coop is its membership requirements. The Coops I'm used to (Davis, Sacramento, Arcata, all in California) run more like real stores, taking credit cards etc., and don't have membership requirements - non-members pay more, that's all. I am not able to work a shift and so I am not a member. Sun May 28 10:02:09 -0700 2006 1327814 0 Alison 7 1327824 I don't belong a food co-op, and I shop regularly at the Harlem Fairway, but I simply don't get your point. One prime concept of capitalism is open competition in the market place; ideally this competition leads to different forms of merchandising, price differentials, quality differentials, etc., and the buyer gets to choose according to their individual preference, balancing factors such as quality, price, convenience, and even the social value of a particular market (if that's something they care about). Fairway offers one mode of purchasing food, the Coop offers another - no one is forced to utilize either of them; they get to freely choose based on their individual preferences. Isn't that the essence of free market capitalism? Fri May 26 08:43:08 -0700 2006 1327801 0 Striver 8 1327859 Very good points. Link: http://www.eatingforbrooklyn.blogspot.com/ Fri May 26 15:14:40 -0700 2006 1327824 0 eatingforbrooklyn 4 1327757 thank the lord for attrition. Thu May 25 00:07:54 -0700 2006 1327512 0 Dave 5 1851016 been going through my own co-op angst - i'm an touring musician and have a damned hard time finding open shifts to fill when i'm home. i'm always falling terribly behind. and yes, i rolled my eyes at the weekly back and forth in the newsletter, the sickly, pushy vegans, the utterly insane controversies over everything that make me think progressives will never ever get our shit together to ever see any real power because we argue over the dumbest crap. so with a slightly guilty heart, i put in for a leave of absence over the summer. i got pretty excited walking up and down the aisles of fairway at first. i love having such great fish and meat counters. the caviar! the coffee! but i may just join the co-op again because the PRODUCE AT FAIRWAY (mostly) SUCKS. the best of it is merely serviceable. the organic section is sickly. the peaches were mealy and inedible in JULY when peaches almost everywhere else were fabulous. the potatoes have been greenish, the bananas over-ripe more often than not. and i walk out of fairway paying about 30 - 40 percent more even when you factor out meat. and i think i actually miss the co-op a little. no, i don't want controversy around my personal food choices, and it's a royal pain in the ass sometimes. but on the plus side - it's actually nice to get to know people on your workshifts, and it's very cool that the buyers there give a shit about supporting local and organic farms. fairway, locally owned or not, definitely goes the way of walmart in that direction - they get their produce from the lowest bidder. with very little quality control. once again, i'll be shopping at both. and in chinatown. and in queens. sigh. being a chowhound is hard. p.s. JPanda - elitist? the last shift i worked was with a dancer from detroit, a jamaican from crown heights, a frenchwoman married to a new york writer and a hassid from boro park. we talked about cheese. what elite are you talking about? i do admit that the office staff are evil spawn from hell, though. Sat Sep 02 23:23:58 -0700 2006 1327757 22646 sing4food 1 1327464 Some great Grand Opening specials, if you haven't already gotten the flyer, look below. Also, delivery this first week (until Thursday) is FREE. After that, the regular charge will be $5. Delivery area goes as far as Prospect Heights, but they hope to expand soon. Link: http://www.fairwaymarket.com/Specials/index.cfm?Store=RedHook Fri May 19 10:00:10 -0700 2006 1327453 0 Pupster 2 1327467 I called the Red Hook store yesterday and they said there was no delivery now. If anyone has any info on delivery it would be helpful as I don't own a car so I'm interested in delivery options to the South Slope this weekend. Fri May 19 10:14:35 -0700 2006 1327464 0 jess 3 1327477 Nope, you talked to the wrong person. I was there yesterday and got the latest from the manager. They showed me their sheet for where they are delivering, which is 4 Brooklyn zip codes. Easy as pie to take the B61 or B77, shop and then have them deliver. Fri May 19 11:52:39 -0700 2006 1327467 0 Pupster 4 1327478 Would it be possible for you to list those zip codes? I can't seem to find any info about their Brooklyn delivery online either. Thanks! Fri May 19 11:59:30 -0700 2006 1327477 0 canyouwink 5 1327482 Sorry, they showed me the sheet, but I was unable to memorize them. I did look at the list of neighborhoods, and the furthest one from the store was Prospect Heights, as I stated above. Fri May 19 12:32:39 -0700 2006 1327478 0 Pupster 1 1327473 I've never lived close enough to a Fairway to properly explore. I was overwhelmed at the selection -- What are the "must-buys" for a Fairway novice? Fri May 19 10:55:54 -0700 2006 1327453 0 EJC 2 1327475 i would say: - smoked salmon -- basically the best i've ever had - olives -- if you're into it, they have it - olive oil -- this is a very special thing offered at fairway -- they pay olive oil producers and bottle artisan oils -- the californian one is especially amazing, green, grassy, and delicious - produce! heirloom tomatoes, etc. all great stuff for reasonable prices Fri May 19 11:11:46 -0700 2006 1327473 0 mrb 3 1327481 I do a regular weekly run to the 125th Street branch, and buy all my meat, dairy (good organic selection), and produce there (dry goods, too). Prices are very good, and the selection is exceptional. Other particular items I buy include their house Spanish olive oil for salads, their fresh pot cheese, their own aged balsamic vinegar - not the regular, the aged (a great buy), their organic lentil soup, rotisserie Murray's chickens (the herb one is great), and Cote D'Or chocolate bars..and that's just for starters. Fri May 19 12:09:06 -0700 2006 1327475 0 Striver 2 1327545 You can check their weekly flyer for specials online. FAIRWAY has exceptional produce. The smoked salmon was voted best in NY, and while I don't quite agree on that, their smoked salmon is excellent and the prices lower than everyplace else. This is a real supermarket, and everything a supermarket has is there. Great deal on BOUNTY paper towels 2 (8 packs) for 10. They have wonderful granola, grains and nuts, although I still prefer SAHADI'S. Sun May 21 01:11:46 -0700 2006 1327473 0 Fleur 1 1327476 I've been shopping at Fairway since they were a single storefront produce stand on Broadway & 74th in Manhattan. I thought the Harlem store was an achievement, but the Red Hook store is beyond belief amazing. My must buys are the house salsa, granola, olive oil, the Fireman's Blend coffee, and anything the cheese people say is good. But the place is over 50,000 square feet of food, you'll find your own favorites. A word of warning about delivery: they say delivery time is 3-4 hours so you have to take the perishables with you. Fri May 19 11:36:18 -0700 2006 1327453 0 Mike G 2 1327494 does anyone know what their delivery areas are??? Fri May 19 14:56:50 -0700 2006 1327476 0 redgirl 3 1327506 It always helps to read the whole thread. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/249617#1327464 Fri May 19 17:09:55 -0700 2006 1327494 0 Bob Martinez 1 1327514 Fairway is the definitive American supermarket! Everytime I visited family and friends all over the country, I was so jealous of the fabulous supermarkets. This is even better. We had the $5.99 a pound American white shrimp for dinner, and they were delicious. Everything looks so wonderful at Fairway, fresher and cheaper than everywhere else. Even the prices on Pellegrino, Coke, canned foods, and cereals is much lower. Another plus is the large number of people working there. You can find someone to help you easily, even when they are crowded. ByeBye Key Food. I will be doing all my shopping at Fairway! Fri May 19 21:38:58 -0700 2006 1327453 0 Fleur