West Side Market is closing on November 30 after 38 years on Broadway between 76th and 77th Street, and its final days have been glum. The store put up signs thanking customers and offering 25% off.
Nancy Franklin took a sad walk around the store.
Lonely Jello and Poignant Notes In West Side Market’s Final Days
Sad, very sad
Sad indeed. Soon our neighborhoods will be nothing but Glass spikes that exclude all but the obscenely wealthy and Fresh Direct or similar trucks delivering “food” to the staff of the select. This has been coming for a long time. The City incentivizes the trivial and the “profitable” at the expense of communities and neighborhoods. DeBlasio has sent this trend into high gear with his “pay to play” administration. Sad indeed!
Fresh Direct, et al is not economically feasible for older single people like myself. WSM and the other supermarkets of yore (Red Apple, anyone?) were fine for what we could reasonably expect to buy and eat before it went bad. If anything happens to Key Food on 85th/Amsterdam I will truly be in trouble.
Nonsense. Like Bloomberg and Giuliani weren’t greasing the pockets of donors? This racist anti-DeBlasio hysteria should be edited out of the comments.
And enough of the classist rabble-rousing. As they say in Texas, “If you don’t have an oil well, go out and get yourself one!”
“Soon our neighborhoods will be nothing but Glass spikes that exclude all but the obscenely wealthy and Fresh Direct or similar trucks delivering “food” to the staff of the select.”
Isn’t this a bit of an exaggeration? I’m nowhere near obscenely wealthy and I’ve always found FD’s items to be fresh and healthy (bread, meat, fish, veg and fruit). I liked the WSM for random last minute items but it’s not a place to shop for weekly groceries, and not all of us have the stamina for TJ’s or Fairway.
Those cases look like then haven’t been cleaned since they were installed.
There’s a good chance you’re right. Think about it. When does an establishment conduct a deep cleaning when they’re open 24 hours?
3 a.m. Go there then, you’ll see.
It’s was a subway tunnel of food. Yuk!
This is just sad. Another one bites the dust. And we are the poorer for it.
West Side Market – we’ll miss you.
Beyond sad. Undeserved. Foolish business decision, word of advice to mr.Joskowitz…beFore your grand expansion find A close location and re-open this one.
We don’t like your ethics oR lack there of.
All about the money sir.
No thanks whatsoever to the Belleclaire Hotel, who might have made an effort to take account of the hundreds of neighbors for whom they’ve shown no regard. Too late now, I suppose.
I fervently hope the West Side Market can re-open soonest and closest possible to here and now, I will be there to go on patronizing the place on day one.
From previous articles the hotel was willing to let West Side Market keep their current space but the people running the market wanted more space in the building which would have interfered with the operation and upgrading of the hotel facilities.
Sorry to see you close. We could use you up on 86th and Broadway!!!!
Isn’t Broadway Market near 86th and Broadway? There are also 2 more WSMs uptown, so how about reopening closer to the original location (low 70’s)?
Absolutely
The Gristedes is disgusting. Fortunately their 98th Street store delivers, and via Prime as well.
Hope to see you in a bigger space soon!
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I always knew that cockroaches and “jello” would survive nuclear war, a zombie apocalypse and the closing of our “beloved West side market”. It was a good run…it is what it is-and they will be certainly missed by all greatly.
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I sympathize with the residents over the loss of the market. But honestly, it was mediocre at best. At least that’s the case in the store on 97th St. and Broadway. The produce is consistently past its prime. The cashiers are wonderful, and Management are surly and often simply rude. Products routinely sold after the expiration dates, and get returned to the shelf after it’s brought to management’s attention. Low quality all around.
Not so here…. These guys had great baked goods, cookies to die for and fresh cheeses. I didn’t buy meat or raw poultry there, I’d go elsewhere in the neighborhood. But it was our go-to store (1/2 block away) for the staples, butter, milk, ice cream, tomato sauce, etc. So handy. The cashiers were really kind. The store would order anything they didn’t stock. What a neighborhood loss.
So sad. We need Westside Market to re-open ASAP.
We don’t need more yoga pants, mountain-climbing gear, expensive stinky bath or beauty products, cell phone stores or banks. We need stores that serve the daily needs of our neighborhood!
What am I to do when I want a single onion? Parmesan cheese or reasonably priced lucky charms- outside of Zabars- 79th is a grocery desert.
Compared to Fairway and Trader Joe’s, West Side Market was an island of calm. It’s customer base was generally older, more civilized, AND it played just terrific music as well as carried Matthew’s honey 12 grain bread (nowhere else could I get this bread).
Totally agree – I loved the music there!
I’m so sad….
I loved shopping there. Loved the staff.. It may have been hard to get through the aisles at times – but they were always open. Always there. But alas, no more….
I worry that this will lead to greatly expanded crowds at Fairway. Will they be able to handle it?
We will miss them terribly!! Loved that they were always open and small. There were never huge lines and we popped in many times during the week to buy whatever needed.
Please open again and as Close to the old location as possible!!!
Oh, what does Greg Bishop the alleged head of NYC Small Business Services have to say about this? Oh, and James Patchett the head of Economic Development for the city. Neither have ever owned their own business, and it’s amazing how both are employed with the city. In addition, another business closes and the Mayor’s office has nothing to say about this. Tale of two cities….a bunch of amateurs working at NYC Small Business Services who couldn’t even sell girl scout cookies