By Deborah Baldwin
All you needed was a photo and a Short history at the West Side Rag a few weeks ago to attract enthusiastic foodies who were anticipating the opening of the neighborhood’s next big cult grocery store.
“Sooo excited! Love Wegmans” wrote one reader. “This is by far the best grocery store I’ve ever been to,” said another. A third predicted, “It’s going to be a nightmare to get in the first few weeks after it opens because people will act like it’s never going to open again.”
What inspires Wegmans and a handful of other grocery stores? such excitement? First of all, they don’t follow the usual rules: one-stop shopping, lowest prices win. Instead, everyone benefits from a phenomenon known among retailers as “Consumer identification with a brand.” The idea is that brand loyalty helps people define themselves, as does their choice of purchases, whether it’s a sustainably harvested corn on the cob or expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Add to that the fact that grocery shopping is a form of entertainment, and you can understand why some prefer stores with distinct personalities and product lines.
Zabar is forever
The granddaddy of Upper West Side cult grocery stores is Zabar’s, 2245 Broadway, near West 80th Street, which is rapidly approaching its 91st year as a deliciously eccentric and beloved brand. Simply being in the Zabar’s chain screams, “I’m an Upper West Sider.”
Zabar’s has deals, but saving money isn’t the goal. Once you’ve made the effort to get to the right counter, does the price of the coveted smoked sturgeon really matter? (OK: $69 per pound.)
Although Zabar’s likes to call itself the original UWS appetizer shop, it’s more of a cross between an upscale deli and a French market hall. Before you can get to the famous fish counter or grab a tuna sandwich, you have to pass through the cheese section, which is less a section and more a sensory experience. Does the distracting sight of the dripping Pont l’Evêque and the aroma of Epoisse de Bourgogne prevent you from finding the kosher Manchego, fresh mozzarella or Saint Agur Blue you need for tonight’s dinner party? Just ask. And while you’re at it, consider picking up a bloc de foie gras de canard—it’s a cut above the liverwurst.
The Upper West Side store’s reputation was sealed the day longtime UWS Rep. Jerry Nadler — on C-Span — brought a familiar orange-and-white Zabar tote bag to then-President Donald J. Trump’s second impeachment hearing. The bag contained a babka and a copy of the Constitution, an employee said.
Zabar’s is one of the few places where you can watch your lightly smoked Nova being sliced before sneaking upstairs to buy an espresso machine. I remember walking in as a new New Yorker, fresh from a dump called Paris, and being astonished when a voice yelled over the din of Christmas shoppers that customers buying caviar should go straight to the Caviar Express line.
Trader Joe’s secret recipe
Trader Joe’s, which is notoriously a little low-key, has a different approach, combining low prices, small inventories, mysterious sourcing, friendly staff and efficient checkout. Not to mention oddball products, also known as “talkers” – or finds worth talking about – that appear and disappear like celebrity sightings. “Since I don’t drink coffee, I used the dark chocolate snowcaps as a source of caffeine to regulate my mood in the morning,” says Craig Kellogg, a devotee. “So it was especially devastating when they discontinued this product.”
Where else but at Trader Joe’s, an outpost of a German conglomerate—which also happens to own mega-grocery chain Aldi—can you get frozen chicken tikka masala, Sonoran-style tortillas, peri-peri potato salad, and snacks served with humor? Things like bambas (popped corn grits, air-fried and then covered in hot, salty, palm-oil-infused peanut butter); stuffed pretzels; and oven-ready mini croissants, frozen in the embryonic stage. Among the fastest-selling items are processed hash browns to heat up and eat. “Everything there seems to have been chosen with me in mind,” says Kellogg, speaking for millions.
But every iconic grocery store has its time. And today, with nine locations in Manhattan, including one at 2073 Broadway at West 72nd Street, Trader Joe’s may be losing some of the UWS’s restless hunters and gatherers to a Korean-American rival, H-Mart.
The magic of H-Mart
Originally a store in Woodside, Queens, catering to homesick Koreans in America, H-Mart has spread throughout New York, delighting all types of shoppers with its unusual range of products.
Home cooks in a hurry appreciate smaller portions of fish and meat already prepared for a wok or a rice bowl for one. Look for takeout packages of sushi salmon, marinated beef, julienne pork and sliced smoked duck at two UWS outposts: 210 Amsterdam near 70th Street and 2828 Broadway at 110th Street.
Browsing the aisles of this colorful emporium is an indoor sport for regulars, thanks to a wealth of produce and a staggering number of competing kimchis, canned drinks and powdered teas—not to mention the namesake pantry staples like miso, chili crisp, gochujang and fish sauce. “I feel like a welcome stranger at H-Mart,” says Susan Chumsky, a longtime New Yorker who takes her groceries seriously. “I started going there during the pandemic, when discrimination against Asian Americans was on the rise. I wanted to take a firm stand against that trend, and the fact that I could buy such cool stuff there was a bonus.”
The Amsterdam Avenue location, only two months old, is bowing to local tastes by sacrificing some of its shelf space to American standards like breakfast cereal, and the home goods section here could almost pass for one of ShopRite. You’ll find rice molds, Hello Kitty soy sauce serving bowls, and melon-flavored soy drinks. Then there are all the snacks that can’t be explained (limited edition Korean smoked galbi flavor Pringles) and those that can’t be ignored; honey butter chips with “gourmet French butter” spring to mind. This is also a great place to shop if you have a strong attachment to the many different types of rice in the world.
Wegmans, when?
Wegman is aiming for a broader appeal through plenty of quantity and quality, served with a dash of culinary snob appeal. As a regional chain, it already has a store in Manhattan near Astor Place and another in Brooklyn. And now this smaller, third store on Broadway near West 64th.
But don’t ask headquarters how long you’ll have to wait until opening. A press-shy publicist declined a request for more information, saying only, “In February of this year, a long-term lease was signed for the space at 1932 Broadway, where workers are vacating the space and items left behind by the previous tenant. We remain focused on our Astor Place business and expanding our customer base in Manhattan.” As for Danny Wegman, he is “unavailable for interviews.”
That said, you’ll have to stop by the Astor Place store (770 Broadway) to get a taste of what to expect: from shelves packed with reasonably priced private labels to mountains of ripening produce to tasty prepared meals and display cases of some of the freshest fish this side of Japan. That’s where much of Astor Place’s fish is flown in from—as any discerning New Yorker would expect.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And check out the support button below.
