By Gus Saltonstall
A popular grocer recently bought a large Upper West Side storefront across the street from Zabar’s, as first reported by Crain’s New York Business.
West Side Market, which already has two locations on the Upper West Side, purchased the retail space at 2250 Broadway, between West 80th and 81st streets, for $32.5 million, according to a deed that was recorded on May 5 and made public on Tuesday, wrote Crain’s.
The retail space, which is on the east side of Broadway, is the longtime home of a Staples location that is still in business. Staples did not immediately respond to an email from West Side Rag or Crain’s about its possible closure, and a store employee told the Rag on the phone Tuesday that he had not heard about the sale or any possible shuttering.
Despite the sale, it is not confirmed as of Tuesday afternoon that West Side Market plans to open another outpost at the address. The grocer did not immediately respond to Crain’s or West Side Rag’s request for comment.
The other two neighborhood West Side Market locations are on Broadway near the corners of 98th Street and 110th Street.
TPG Angelo Gordon, an investment firm, was the seller of the space in the transaction, after it purchased the site in 2022 for $27 million, reported Crain’s.
The location is also noteworthy for its proximity to Zabar’s. The iconic Upper West Side grocer is across the street on Broadway, and if West Side Market does end up opening a storefront at their newly owned space, it would present two very close grocery options.
You can check out the full Crain’s article — HERE.
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Great news.
We need more grocery options.
Great to get another grocery option but sad to potentially lose Staples. It is a great resource for last second school supplies, etc – the store across the street (is it FedEx?) has some similar services but nowhere near the inventory.
West Side Market will have almost no impact on Zabar’s. I am always amazed by people who do their routine shopping at Zabar’s – I love Zabar’s but it is not the place to buy staple items.
I wish the West Side Market space was going into the old Gristede’s space at 86 and Broadway that has been empty forever and we could keep the Staples – that would be the best of both worlds. I can still smell the peculiar odor of that Gristedes…
It would be so terrible if Staples closed! They’re the only remaining UWS store with affordable paper products (much cheaper in their store than on the website) and their inexpensive back-to-school supplies are a mainstay. The staff are helpful and nice, and if you sign up for an account, you often get a discount. I shop there about once a week.
BTW if you’re looking for something that’s missing from the shelves, always ask the staff if it’s elsewhere in the store. Like so many other chain stores in the city Staples has had a big problem with repeat grab and run thieves.
If Staples goes, be aware there is a great stationery store on Amsterdam just north of 89th St, Gold Leaf Stationers. It is a small store but they have an amazing selectionl
I ran into an executive from Staples at the store yesterday and he said they’re going to be staying on the UWS at a smaller location on the lower scale, keeping printing and paper supplies.
Yeah, the Gristede’s where you had to wear surgical gloves before picking from the produce…
The funny thing was they were cleaning it up and improving it in the months before it closed.
The “peculiar odor” was rodent feces. I reported that odor to the Dept of Health several times.
Now this is good news; I hope it is true. I like Zabar’s but for me it is too pricey for everyday shopping and its produce section is limited. I often shopped at the WSM on 77th, I especially liked its produce and its occasional, seemingly random, sales. I hope Wegman’s gets up and running soon, also. With scary economic times in the offing, it will be nice to have some solid supermarkets are in the area.
Right, Zabar’s is no longer the store that Murray Klein built after he was brought in as a 1/3 owner to save the store in 1957.
Okay, but Westside Market is not a competition even for the degraded Zabar’s.
Albeit, Westside Market will likely stock better less expensive olive oil than Zabar’s but that’s not hard., even Fairway and Pioneer already do that.
“degraded Zabars”–??? That’s ridiculous! Zabar’s is and will always be a mecca. Fairway used to be (in the ’70s), but no more. The prices are insanely high, the produce is often of poor quality. Pioneer is a refreshing old-fashioned supermarket, and the prices are sometimes on the high side, but the employees/managers are unfailing helpful. Sometimes when I can’t find something, one of the employees will actually WALK me over to the location. It amazes me.
Zabar’s has gone downhill significantly since Klein sold his share to the Zabar brothers in 1996.
The decline accelerated about a dozen years ago. Now, the prices are higher relative to other area markets, and the selection is often not as good.
I only referenced Fairway’s olive oil section and pricing. The Wakeferned Fairway is largely a disaster, albeit Fairway IV has better bread than Fairway II+III.
Right, Pioneer is a vastly pleasanter place to shop than Fairway. And in some cases, Pioneer is consistently less expensive than Zabar’s and “Fairway”. The same is true of Morton William.
A bigger question is what is going to happen to the Starbucks location in this building from You’ve Got Mail?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ7lFV9Z2hk
OMG – Starbucks has been there that long?
…1998!
Boy, time flies…. Just seems like yesterday they opened.
West Side Market used to have a store not far away on the other side of Broadway – it wasn’t a very good layout for a store though. I don’t recall when it closed.
Yes, the one next door to Big Nick’s Burger & Pizza Joints; see below for more.
We miss Big Nick’s so much!!
It closed in November 2017. I shopped there nearly every day and was so disappointed when it closed, BUT it reopened on the UES near my workplace so I started shopping there on my way home. Same selection of prepared food, bakery, great produce, and a much better layout. Glad to hear that they’re doing well enough to open a new location on Broadway. : )
Are you thinking of Broadway Farm?
No, Bee. There was a WSM in the Belleclaire @77th and Bway until about 2017, south of the hotel entrance. I think it was split up to be the Harmon Health and Beauty and Beard Papa.
RIght. Bit Nick, who had come to know fairly well, was told by Bellclaire, they wanted access to their lobby Thru his restaurant. Eventually it happened as they threw out his restaurant.. NIck also closed his Mediterranean resaturant Nikos. We Miss Nickc AND West Side Market
I’ll wager Anna is thinking of the branch formerly in the Hotel Belleclaire (2171 Broadway near 77th Street; 1979–Nov. 30, 2017), my very first NYC supermarket.
For bonus trivia points: the manager of this branch ended up at 84 Third Avenue location.
More likely West Side Market, Broadway at 77th Street.
No, not Broadway Farm. West Side Market was in the Belleclaire Hotel for decades, back when the Belleclaire was an SRO. Yes, it had a weird L-shaped layout.
West Side Market is a very good, and reasonally priced, supermarket. I wish it had an outlet close to me on 124th St.
Yeah! We need more grocery options in the neighborhood. We will still support Zabar’s but competition is always good for shoppers. Welcome back, Westside Market. We miss you terribly.
Need. Big Aldis. Enough with the fluff
I too love Aldis when visiting the suburbs. But most UWSers do not have enough storage space to buy things in the quantities Aldis provides. I doubt Aldis would consider coming into a neighborhood where people can’t back up their SUVs and fill.their garages with extra supplies. True, WSM is not a “bargain” but they have some of the best prepared foods around, and that what this neighborhood actually uses.
Aldi’s, the one I went to, had a horribly limited selection, and only anonymous brands. No customer service whatsoever, and the prices were not low enough to justify going there. And the profits all leave the country, just like Ikea.
aldi’s is basically trader joe’s sans the colorful shirts and artistic signs but with slightly better pricing. i really wish we’d get one here, the one in harlem is a slog to get to. you might be thinking of costco, which i would also wholly and readily welcome. i use a shopping cart and public transit and it’s been working fine for me.
Harriet..Aldi’s is not a “big box” store. You can easily shop there and live in a small space. I have shopped there for years in Florida and in the Bronx. Some items, like onions and lemons are bagged, so you can’t just by one or 2, but the bags are not Costco sized. Lidl is similar to Aldi and there is one on 119th st in Harlem. Aldi prices for eggs, milk and yogurt are lower than any city market and you can find good quality organic products as well.
Actually WSM is very expensive and overpriced on the majority of items. I live a few blocks away and only go there for very few items.
This is true and they have really hiked prices on random things that still sell for much less elsewhere in the neighborhood. WSM makes Whole Foods look cheap these days.
The 98th St. West Side Market is truly overpriced on many items.
The one at 110th is one of the best, and the produce is also incredibly fresh (bigtime turnover every day due to constant foot traffic). Sadly the one at 98th is definitely more expensive, and the produce pales next to 110. Long live Zabar’s!!
You’re paying in part for the 24/7 hours. But it’s not like Zabar’s is cheap!
Actually, from a “grocery” perspective, depending on what you’re buying and how you buy, Zabar’s is far more reasonable than you think. I buy about 60%-70% of my food there, and I can get the “ingredients” for four dinners and several lunches for as low as $60. You just have to know HOW to buy.
I never shopped at Zabar’s except for appliances. Fairway had all the same things for half the price in the 80s.
The old Gristedes space on 86th is still vacant – right?
The 86th Street Gristedes closed because there is a problem with the HVAC system in the base building. A friend of mine was one of the DoB inspectors who had the space vacated.. Absent a significant and very expensive upgrade by the base building that location cannot be used as commercial space.
Interesting. Thank you for sharing this information – now it makes a bit more sense.
Are Staples and Starbucks being evicted? the two main tenants at that address? I believe Staples occupies four floors.
Yes, it is at least 2 floors, I went there for my TSA Pre Check appointment
If you’ have lived on the West Side for a while you may remember West Side Market was for many years on the west side of Broadway between I believe 76th and 77th Sts so they are not new to the area.
Having shopped the 76/77th Street location for nearly 20 years, it was disgustingly filthy. It’s only plus was proximity.
This is awesome!
Welcome to the neighborhood‼️
I Love this because I live right on West 80th St. (walking distance).
I shop in Zabar’s all the time and there other things I may need that Zabar’s does not carry and we do need a grocery store of this caliber in this part of town.
This will definitely great for Zabar’s as well, increasing the food foot traffic.
It’s going be a welcome site for this area of the UWS.
It’s a shame about Staple’s, but most things I buy are on Amazon for less the price than what Stable’s charges. I have been noticing in the past few years that Staple’s is not as busy as it used to be for that very large space that it has.
This is right in the middle of the wealthy part of the UWS, they can’t get any better than that.
I actually thought where PC Richards is would be a great spot for an upscale grocery store.
West Side Market is not a good grocery. In any case, it wouldn’t be a Zabar’s competitor. Totally different types of store. I would miss Staples though.
The 77th Street WSM had a good cheese selection.
If their 97th-98th St store is anything to judge by, they don’t know how to select good cheese and know even less about storing it. It’s often dried out or gummy or even moldy already.
Zabar’s has never fit the profile of an everyday supermarket, so I wouldn’t see this as eventual real competition. For one thing, Zabar’s staff to a person (mostly men) know how to slice and present prosciutto and nova – most markets don’t, by a long shot.
Zabar’s is a specialty food store, not an every day grocery store. It and WSM have very little in common.
I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what I said, thank you for seconding that.
meh
This would be fantastic. I’ll take any decent store. We so need it and will not impact Zabars at all. OK I think that we all know that something has happened to Zabars. First of all it has gotten insanely expensive. Almost laughable. The prepared foods are not so good. Not sure what has happened. Great lox and deli foods but it’s not a supermarket. We all have a product that we use to determine if we are getting ripped off. Mine is Yogurt. It’s just astounding. Oh and the coffee is just too expensive even though coffee prices have risen.
While Zabars is not a traditional grocery store and never intended to be, carrying basic necessities such as hand soapand detergent, it was such a delight and relief that when Covid started, Zabars was the only place in the neighborhood where you could buy toilet paper!!!! It was even displayed in the windows.
And I don’t think the prices are high for everything. To my horror, the price of Dannon and Brown Cow and other yogurts is high not just at Zabars but across the board. Except at Trader Joe’s, but there you can only buy their brand.
Zabars has always been expensive, and their prepared foods have never been very good.
Zabars sold Dannon yogurt for 79 cents in 2021. Last time I looked (I stopped buying it there when the price skyrocketed) it was $1.29.
So I agree with you: The emperor has no new clothes. But that’s not new.
Yes! We have missed the WSM on Broadway in the upper 70s for years.
Hopefully Staples will remain and/or find new space nearby without any interruption of having a store open.
Their Mgr/Associates have always been helpful.
The nearest store would be 57th/125th, which would leave a big hole in Staples coverage, abandoning a large customer base. This includes large numbers of writers and academics.
As well as the students/faculty of Columbia, Barnard, Manhattan, Julliard, Fordham. All of these groups are surely Staples customer base.
It should be noted this store has been very generous to local schools and community groups in a number of ways, losing this assistance will be expensive for them.
When our Staples opened, I scorned them as another big box store. Now I love them. As a quickly aging old lady, they unfailingly and generously help me with downloading, sending and scanning. They help teachers and students with printing projects and all other varied and wonderful copying requests. And they are an easy place for Amazon returns. Paper products are affordable. I am now a certified Stapletonian.
Staples is an important retail resource!
And yes the staff are very nice and the store has been supportive in the community.
As for food stores, seems strange that several new ones opened last year in th 60s – H-Mart and Morton Williams – and then Wegman’s is on queue. Besides existing stores – TJ, Fairway, Whole Foods and others etc? Plus so many people get their food delivered.
But still fewer food stores in the 90s.
Hope we don’t lose Staples. I like Westside Market (used to shop at the 110th St. store when I lived up there), but do we really need another supermarket in the 80s? Besides Zabar$, Fairway, 2 Key Foods, and Broadway Farm are all nearby. However, we DO need a store like Staples–I rely on it for so much and prefer shopping in person to online. Don’t want to migrate to Amazon with their non-DEI politics.
Life will go on but . . .
Darn it! I hope we don’t have to choose between WSM and Staples. We need both!
Wish Trader Joe would open on Broadway in the 80’s/90’s.
Doubt it would happen so close to the one on 93rd and Columbus
I like West Side Market and am happy for more grocery options, however It would be sad to lose that Staples. There isn’t anyplace else with that type of selection for paper goods in the neighborhood.
Awful. West Side Market is way overpriced, produce is mediocre and the management is ignorant and dismissive. Better buy from Zabar’s or Fairway.
There are two West Side markets now, but it is almost as it they are owned by different people. The prices are not the same-I could never understand that.
When I asked once at 98th why a bunch of things were one or two dollars more per item as compared to 110th, the manager -not the same one as now- said they weren’t tied to each other. Also the east side of Broadway is always cheaper than the west side.
Set aside that Zabar’s is not a grocery store in the traditional sense, so that any “competition” between Zabar’s and WSM would be minimal, of all the grocery stores in or near the area – Fairway, Gristedes, Key Food, Pioneer, Morton-Williams, even Broadway Farms – WSM is, by far, the highest-priced store of the bunch. (The only one more expensive was the old Food Emporium.) I don’t shop there unless I absolutely have to, nor would I.
While I am always glad to see more grocery stores, and would welcome them to the area, they are unlikely to get very much of my business.
Would be a huge loss if Zabar’s was threatened. Just a quick comparison: Zabar’s remarkable cheese department vs the moldy, over-age limited selection at all the Westside Market locations.
Again, turnover. Don’t buy very much prepared food usually but the meats, cheeses, fish, bread, coffee, etc are why people shop at Zabar’s. Yeah, they sell grocery items like milk, butter, yogurt, and more, but comparing prices to a ‘regular’ supermarket for those types of items makes no sense. And most customers who are running in to buy a pound of coffee or whatever can probably afford the extra dollar for the milk. The thing is, the supermarkets are supposed to be the places to actually do grocery shopping for people who actually cook. Zabar’s is not a supermarket, but it is a gem. One of the best things about living in an irreplaceable walking city like ours is that we can pick and choose where we buy what. However, this mindset was so much more relevant when we still had real supermarkets. In our family, as much as we’d have liked to, nobody could afford to only shop at Zabar’s. That was for special occasions. And we are so grateful and happy that they are still part of the UWS!
I would hate to see Staples leave, but I also have to be honest and say that they don’t do nearly the business they need to in order to support a three-floor store. 90% of the time that I’m in there, there are perhaps a dozen other customers in there (not including their copy and ship counters). The only time they are truly busy is “back-to-school” time, when families come to buy all the things they need for their kids.
So, sadly, it would not surprise me if they do close. There ARE a couple of spaces in the area in which they could open a slightly smaller store, and I’m hoping that is the plan.
As for Starbucks, its loss would be near-devastating for me, since that has been my home store for years, and I love the staff there. I used to “live” there a few days a week, having my coffee and reading a book or doing crossword puzzles. It would be SORELY missed.
Who owns West Side Market?
With Staples closing, you can still find some of the same items on a much smaller scale, but check out Gold Leaf Stationers on Amsterdam Avenue and 89th Street. They have been there for many years!
To Doxma33 and others: Next time you smell “peculiar” odor in a food market, report it to the New York State Dept. of Agriculture and Markets (Ag & Markets) not to the city or state departments of Health. Ag & Markets has jurisdiction over food markets.
When is Wegmans opening!?? They are supposed to move into the old Bed, Bath & Beyond location on Broadway in the 60s. CBS Sunday morning produced a story about the Wegman family last week. It is a family run business. They keep the stores on the eastern corridor only, despite requests to move west, in order to keep their quality high. They are so good even Robert Durst — who was dressed in drag and on the FBI’s most wanted list — ducked into one of the Pennsylvania stores to grab a sandwich, when he was noticed and arrested. But if you ever tasted Wegman’s cheese bread, you would know why he took the risk — LOL! I shop mostly fresh (farm to table) at the farmers’ markets, but I cannot wait for Wegman’s.
Wegman’s opening the end of 2026.
The end of 2026?!
NGL: I was hoping and praying it was for another Trader Joe’s — sorry real estate cum grocer families.
The new Key on 88th (of whom I am a regular patron) or more boutique options are not what we need. We need more grocers that can feed a family: and you can’t do that on Viennoiserie or nicely-roasted beans. There’s a reason the Trader Joe’s never stop hopping.
And…….what’s going on with Wegmans‼️
I heard Christmas 2026?
This makes no sense. The space is three large floors, far too vast and hard to navigate for a grocery store. And why would Staples move, when they are a large chain, with a monopoly on office supplies in this part of town?
Wish Trader Joe’s would move into the old space PC Richards had a 86th and Broadway.
West Side Market has become one of the most expensive supermarkets in the neighborhood. Comparing prices of items between WSM and Whole Foods is like night and day. WSM does have some “leader” items to get you in. Milk is well priced. Yesterday the Philly cream cheese price was $9.
Baked goods are reasonable but prepared foods are astronomical. Price and quality are better at Zabars and WF for many things. Guess one has to go to 3 or 4 stores and select different items to get total savings.
West Side Market is horrible. I was once holding a yogurt, and a clerk walked up to me and put a new – higher- price sticker on it. Price hike a-go-go.
It’s strange to me that Fairway is gone, as far as what it was, yet West Side Market survived and thrived.
Maybe a new office-supply store would open? There was one very near there, I still have ink I bought when it was closing.