Westside Market Manager Still Reeling From Mariah Carey Meeting; He Has a New Plan to Win Her Over
By Carol Tannenhauser
It’s been a week since Mariah Carey walked out of the rain into Westside Market, on Broadway between 98th and 99th Streets, seeking help because her van broke down on the way to the Fresh Air Fund camp upstate that bears her name.
The first thing that went through Store Manager Homer Panteloglou’s mind when he saw her was “Holy crap! Is that really Mariah Carey?” Panteloglou said he’d had a crush on the singer since he was 9 or 10 years old, living in Fresh Meadows, Queens, where his parents owned a pizzeria. “I just remember watching her videos and feeling so in love.”
Now 34 and single, Panteloglou said his crush on Carey, 49, had been “subsiding, but it’s been rejuvenated since I saw her in person. She’s just as beautiful as she was then.”
A lot of celebrities show up at Westside Market, Panteloglou told us, but none affected him as Carey did. “Usually I get starstruck, but when I was talking to her she made me feel very comfortable. We joked, we laughed, and I didn’t feel nervous at all. She seemed so normal and down to earth. I was able to be honest with her.”
He told her about his childhood crush and sang to her.
Bonus video: when we walked into the West side market looking for anyone with a car😂 pic.twitter.com/36h16t68Ez
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) August 2, 2019
Would he like to see her again?
“I’d love to see her again. Oh my God. Of course. You think you’d be able to convince her to come back?”
We suggested he make her an offer she can’t refuse.
“How about this? I’ll give her Maria’s cookbook, Made With Love. Maria Zoitas is Westside Market’s owner and main chef,” he explained. “I will personally cook Mariah Carey any dish in that cookbook she wants.”
I was hoping you’d do a follow-up on that story with Homer himself. Sweet! 🙂
This is why I love the West Side Rag!
Homer is outstanding, what a nice guy. You single girls out there who look a little like Mariah Carey and/or can sing: this guy is hard-working, sweet, handsome, funny… and apparently can cook! Make him an offer!!
who is your favorite West Side Market celebrity? my personal WSM “crush” is Paul Krugman, who i have seen multiple times.
Paul Krugman, the leader of predictions that never materialize. I’ve seen and gone up to Stephen F. Cohen at WSM, that guy is remarkable.
if we’re talking about the same Dr. Stephen Cohen, the Russia scholar, i agree with you that he’s great, though i don’t agree with him on impeachment. You are aware, of course, that he is a hard-core lefty and married to Katrina Vanden Heuvel, publsher of the Nation. So it’s odd to see you being such a fan.
Krugman’s predictions have been overwhelmingly on target, though you can find some here and there that went awry, which he readily acknowledges. One of his prominent prediction successes was that the Obama stimulus and the Fed actions to avert a more serious recession wouldn’t lead to strong inflation (2008-2012 or so). All the right wing cranks disagreed, almost violently, and made fun of him. Krugman explained repeatedly how this was basic macro-economics. But it’s easy to win when you’re arguing with cranks.
Regardless of my past comments on here that has led you to believe I am a lock-step right winger, I am not. I do not view politics as sports, where you support your team no matter what and hate the opposition. I vote for whoever I think will be best for the country, I could care less if that person has a D, R, or I next to their name. Sadly, the DNC has become so unreasonable in their views, totally embracing the very far left, that I doubt I will vote for any Democrat in my lifetime. I am well aware of the political views of Professor Cohen, however he is the only public figure to rightfully criticize the deep-rooted hostility that this government has towards Russia. Every administration since the fall of the Soviet Union lies to and antagonizes Russia, for reasons I do not understand. This is entirely unreported in MSM. I am no Russia-lover, but committing hostile acts against the largest holder of nuclear weapons in the world is insane. Hillary Clinton compared Putin to Hitler in 2014. I had nightmares of her being elected for that statement alone, as how could relations with Putin be normalized when the POTUS recently equated you to the greatest leader of evil in modern times? As for your “crush” on Paul Krugman, you are terribly biased, as all one has to do is 15 minutes of research on the web to see the dozens of “predictions” Mr. Krugman has made that never came to pass, and often, the opposite was realized.
That ‘s a cute story. She is great.
Nice moment, Homer. Savor it, don’t sour it by over-reaching.
He’s not over reaching… he’s feeling inspired
Fun Fact: When Mariah moved to NYC from Long Island she lived on the UWS and got a job (for a minute) at Dramatics. The renamed her Echo so she quit!
The music legend has UWS roots
Let’s urge Mariah to do something nice for Homer…what a pure and wonderful fan he is…
My daughter and I are huge Homer fans!!!
Who is this Mariah Carey person?
You can just Google Mariah Carey and leave out “person.”
Love Homer, WS Market and this follow-up story. But I am quite dismayed that this life-long NYer is wearing a Seattle cap! What the what? I’ll be sure to ask him what’s up next time I’m in the market. And I probably won’t be the first! 🙂
God bless you. Treat her right. This will be so amazing. True Love
Homer is just one of the lucky few lambs who get to see fist hand & up close that MC in person is for real and that is all good!