By Carol Tannenhauser
Gracious Home on 67th Street and Broadway has put up “Everything Must Go” signs in recent days, leading many locals to think the store is closing.
But they’re not closing, said Rob Morrison, chief operating officer of Gracious Home. “We are in the process of reinventing the business, changing the inventory from what it is to what it will be. The brand is important and will remain, but I am not at liberty at this time to say what we’re going to be selling. An announcement will be made in the next few weeks.”
Photo by Meg D’Incecco.
Ooh, I get to be first, though I don’t really have anything to say, besides Happy Thanksgiving
Happy to hear this, makes sense
And I get to be second, so I second the emotion!
No wonder GH has to reinvent. We used to pay GH $6 for a 15-watt halogen bulb, then along came the internet and the same bulb cost us 50 cents. GH also had a huge business in high-end door/cabinet hardware, but today people look at the display and then shop online for half the price. Recently we’ve seen the dwindling of their traditional hardware items, tools, & cleaning supplies, in favor of pricey appliances and chic decorator/furnishings items. Grand Metro Hardware, which just closed, could not make it as a traditional hardware. A better niche would be help with installations (like a/c), apt. repairs, tool rentals, and services for the home handyman and repairman, like Supreme Hardware on 73rd St. It’s small and looks junky, but they have a complete machine shop in the basement–bandsaw, table saw, grinders, etc. And very experienced people to help and advise you.
“like Supreme Hardware on 73rd St. It’s small and looks junky, but they have a complete machine shop in the basement–bandsaw, table saw, grinders, etc. And very experienced people to help and advise you.”
Could you tell me where this is located, which avenues? I’ve been hiring handymen online and really getting creeped out by the people coming into my apt and would love to use a neighborhood store.
Supreme is the great! Ask for Kenny, he’s the best!
It’s just east of Columbus on 73d.
I also recommend.
Thank you Helpful UWSer and Bronxite, I really appreciate it!
Helen,
Its at the corner of 73rd and Columbus
They need to ‘reinvent’ their prices on a regular basis too.
Heads up – they are not accepting returns on recently purcased items even with a receipt. The employee told me that they were closing and that full would not except returns. This was yesterday Wednesday.
Buyer beware – check the layered stickers/tickets before you buy. Or check yourself that you feel good about the price you are about to pay. They took previously discounted items (marked in red pen on a previous sticker) then MARKED THEM UP and applied a new sticker! I didn’t know that until I got home and went to take off the various stickers to wash the item I purchased. As was previously noted, no returns and no adjustments. Just a store full of employees with bad attitudes as they try to sell their (still) overpriced items.
So why go in then?
I guess the “we will not be oversold” approach only goes so far.
I thought they’d start a policy where if someone charges more within 30 days of your purchases, they’d add the amount to your credit card.
But it was a nice store to visit and look at options.
GH is expensive but always gave great service and fast delivery. I hope they can stay in business. I miss Metro too. What a loss.
I like the store. Yes they’re pricey but they had lots of hard to find items whether it was bathroom hardware, interesting lamps, fancy soap dishes or Missoni sheets. I’m sure I looked more than I purchased but I enjoyed the place. I was just there Wednesday, where the manager said they were not going out of business but we overheard 2 employees in whispers say they weren’t told what was going on.
Complete bullshit. I work here and we are closing
I hope not. We need New York-based stores that sell a little bit of everything. Yes, you are overpriced, but I like going in to dream, and the little things are affordable (candles, etc.)
Please don’t leave us with Lowe’s as a place for home needs…..they don’t even have a selection of light bulbs and there is no customer service. Lowe’s is useless to what we need on a daily basis
Actually I’ve always loved Gracious Home. They have some things no one else in the area has. Great quality and interesting designs on many things including lamps, bath fixtures, even soap dishes. And the Missoni sheets & towels are gorgeous – but pricey! Shopped there Wednesday and was told they’re not going out of business just new stock. But I overheard employees say to each other they didn’t know what was going on. I’ll miss them if they go.
I was there today and the vibe told me they were closing. What I always appreciated about them, and will sorely miss, is they were the go to place where you knew they would have it. Maybe not the cheapest, but they could be counted on to have some unusual cleaning product or a special lightbulb for an appliance or whatever. Their sales people knew their sections and would help you find that unique screw, special glue, or whatever you needed to get your item functioning again. They carried stock in things I often couldn’t find at the big box stores. They will be missed though I can imagine entheir rent is enormous and you do pay it on the one off purchases I made…even if they were a lifesaver time and again.
The finest hardware store in the world, but very pricey. They could compete with BB&B, but Lowe’s was a killer. I will be very sorry to see it go, would be nice to get a supermarket there.
I love Gracious Home. Please don’t close West Side store. It adds class to the neighborhood, good products, helpful staff, a joy to shop there.
Love their inventory but their prices are insanely high. They do have beautiful products. I hope the employees get to keep their jobs.
I loved shopping at GH, and found their prices on things that you could buy elsewhere were competitive, but the stuff you could not get anywhere else were super pricey. I loved supporting a NY store, not a chain, and the employees were always really helpful. I went in to buy some ornaments yesterday (which I would have bought anyway) and got an earful of spite from the woman checking me out. Such a shame. Is the east side store “restructuring” too?
Check out the Yelp reviews for the GH on the UES. Certainly doesn’t look good.
Beacon Paint & Hardware on Amsterdam Avenue is still going strong! Marking our 117th year in January!
That was tacky. Won’t be going there.
Nothing tacky about it at all. Beacon is a good, family-owned (I believe) neighborhood resource that was here before Gracious Home opened and that has survived Gracious Home’s apparent demise.
Nothing wrong with their pointing out their survival — and their continuing availability as one of the few remaining hardware/housewares stores in the City, let alone this neighborhood.
So?
I was so happy when GH opened – I mean, where else on the UWS could you find a nice $50 dishtowel?! Nothing has changed – went to the “sale” yesterday – found a lovely Kleenex dispenser. Was so heavy I couldn’t even lift it and was marked $365 – 20% discount resulted in $292 bargain! Even the most humble household products were priced double there. Hope something useful goes into the space.
Gracious Home has been in trouble for some time. There has been management and other shake-ups along with layoffs.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Gracious-Home-Reviews-E243270.htm
https://nypost.com/2016/11/22/gracious-home-stores-still-open-but-for-how-long/
Bottom line is (again as one stated in another thread about GH)is they simply are finding it difficult to compete in this new online shopping world.
GH while never inexpensive often was the only place you could find certain things (Miele or other European appliances/products for instance), and serving as a high end housewares/hardware store. That has all changed.
You can find Miele appliances and Persil products anywhere now, and especially online. What is more the prices are often lower, much lower than GH.
Amazon.com and similar places are killing traditional brick/mortar stores. People just are doing more and more shopping online both for price and convenience. The free delivery Amazon.com and others now offer as almost routine has eliminated much of the final price difference between shopping online versus in a physical location.
Really hope GH does not go under. They have some great staff many of whom have been there for decades and might not find it easy to find another job. This is likely to be true for some of the older employees.
Sold me defective merchandise, said I couldn’t
Get my money back or a credit because it was
On sale. Badly done, un-gracious home.
Tara, that is something you can challenge with your credit card company. Many credit cards guarantee returns and guarantee quality — depending on what card you have. Good luck!
Everyone should ONLY purchase items at Gracious Home with a credit card now.
Just now catching up on this and devastated to read it. Yeah, they’re pricey. But they had an outstanding selection of light bulbs, candles, cleaning and kitchen supplies. I always shopped at GH rather than order from Amazon. But starting about 9 months ago, they stopped carrying many of the products I bought regularly. I didn’t choose to shop at Amazon; they forced me to, since neither BBB nor Lowes carries the products GH did. Very sad day for me.
and no Santa tonight at Winters Eve at Gracious Homes, we went every year- they always had the best looking Santa!
It’s the end of an era.
I liked GH too. I went in there 2 weeks ago, instead of Amazon, specifically to purchase scented shelf paper for the vintage armoire I just purchased from Etsy. I thought for sure they would have what I would consider an obscure item. They didn’t have any and couldn’t tell me when it would be back in stock. Too bad, guess I’m back to Amazon unless someone can tell me any other places on the UWS to purchase some?
Most comments are about GH’s prices,merchandise.The real issue is putting a cap on what landlords charge, same as how health care was reigned in..
Wait — the cost of health care has been reined in? When did that happen? Where was I?
For those who honestly don’t think that Gracious Home store in the UWS and 2 in UES is closing — because the COO “said” they are not closing….well, face it, THEY ARE CLOSING!
Here are some of the observations:
1) They are liquidating starting in early Nov., right at the start of the peak holiday season – with no restocking.
2) They are not allowing returns at the peak of the gift giving season.
3) They have purchased signs from a bankruptcy / liquidation company (same as Tower Records, Linens & Things, Circuit City, etc.) and have the same escalating discount structure
They have had a bankruptcy before, the CEO hired last year isn’t commenting, their social media accounts make no mention of this (even to reassure customers), etc.
Basically, they are trying to keep employees from bolting, customers from vanishing, and most importantly, creditors from dashing to court.
No one would liquidate to “rebrand” unless they are completely branding as another company — but not as Gracious Home — and likely will default on their outstanding bills so they can recover.
Retail as many of us know or knew it is dying in NYC and elsewhere.
There are many reasons with the main being rise of Internet shopping, but there are others. The NYP for once did a good piece on this: https://nypost.com/2016/11/27/why-new-yorks-beloved-stores-are-dying/
i love the part about Luxurification and Crapification:
“These stores serve a shrinking clientele: people financially healthy enough to splurge on a better-quality bathmat, but not so rich that they hire professionals to outfit their homes, and who use wholesale providers to do it.”
Easy come easy go.