Gracious Home closed on Wednesday, ending an 18-year run at 1992 Broadway on the corner of 67th Street amid a court case with its landlord. Gracious Home’s landlord Lincoln Square Commercial Holding Co. says the company owes it $1.3 million in rent and taxes, but Gracious Home is fighting in court. The space is three stories tall.
Workers demonstrated outside on Wednesday, although they appear to have eventually gotten paychecks, a Twitter user told us.
Workers picketing outside Gracious Homes. Rightfully so. @westsiderag pic.twitter.com/yNajrHerSN
— Manhattan Mingle (@ManhattanMingle) December 14, 2016
Thanks to Dorothy for the photo.
🙁 This makes me very, very sad.
I loved talking walks in there. But could not afford anything.
The handwriting was on the wall that they were closing but I thought they would at least last through the holidays. I wasn’t a big fan as most of their prices were high but it was still good to have around.
well, now i need to find a new place that will exchange my 130L sodastream carbonators (everywhere else only seems to do the 60L ones).
Bowery Kitchen Supply inside Chelsea Market has the 130L Sodastream carbonators.
Zabars
GH offered a great selection of household items but their prices were ridiculously way over priced. With Lowes opening up nearby, GH should have lowered their prices or revised their business strategy.
With a huge amount of back rent owing and in violation of a stipulation agreement, it is a wonder the UWS location lasted long as it did.
Hopefully GH will be able to get whatever inventory remains out and redistribute to their other two remaining stores. The past “fire sale” greatly reduced stock so there shouldn’t be that much to move.
That fire sale/movement of stock is a wise decision. Last thing any business wants is for the marshal to show up and padlock the place. Then IIRC whatever is the store now belongs to the landlord.
When Ray’s Beauty Supply on 8th Avenue got padlocked the place was full of merchandise.
Well, unfortunately, their other stores are also closing. They should give their remaining inventory to goodwill.
The prices were laughably, ridiculously high. Once went to grab a pillowcase and the only one available was $45. Desk lamps were over $300. Hard to feel sad, since I always felt like I was being taken advantage of.
I will miss this place. True it was pricey but they had some style of items I couldn’t find anywhere else but some east side shops or big department stores. I loved just walking around the place. I purchased some beautiful candles for Thanksgiving and picked up about a half dozen glass Christmas decorations for a fraction of the price. I thought I’d be able to get back one more time before they closed. But not to be. Beautiful merchandise and a nice hardware department with great staff.
Passed by the East Side store late last night, they still have a good supply of Christmas ornaments from what one could see through the window. It was late and the place was closed so cannot confirm beyond that observation.
They had a number of items there that were hard to find anywhere else. Great specialty cleaning and maintenance products. Great fixtures and the like and a knowledgeable staff. I think their decor items were not the right mix for the location.
Totally agree, Ted! The staff–practically across the board–was not only knowledgeable but often above-and-beyond helpful. A far cry from the duh-h-h attitudes typical of Lowe’s and most hardware stores.
Goodbye! Lowes has everything GH had and it’s a fraction of the GH price.
I commented earlier about the fact that I’ve lost my convenient source for sodastream refills, but in reality, this was a long time coming.
Back when they opened, they pretty much had a monopoly in the neighborhood – so people would do ridiculous things like pay $50 for a shower curtain liner (you think I’m exaggerating, but my dad did exactly that. and got a fairly stern talking to by both myself and my stepmom about how it was a ridiculous amount of money to spend). But with the influx of chain stores like bed, bath and beyond and (more recently) Lowe’s, and of course, the internet, they lost their captive customer base pretty quickly.
Combine that with the fact that they filled half the store with ridiculously overpriced crap that was hard to even look at (I once went in there to just look at lamps, and they were so disorganized and overpriced that I walked out in frustration and ended up ordering something for less than half the price from crate & barrel).
Anyway. Like I said, I’ll have to track down a new place to get my refills, but that’s certainly not a reason to keep open that giant space!
The only value this store had was that it validated to a certain few UWSiders that yes they did have really good taste for a price. It is called snob appeal.
This is just so so sad – all those employees out of work right before the holidays. What a shame.
Truly bad timing for the workers!
So Sad Gracious Home Closed.
What Wii I Do Now?
They kept saying that it wasn’t closing but that it will reopen with only high end products. Beats me, I always thought that was exactly what the store was. And with the changing demographic, I assumed they’d do very well. Wonder what chain will come in its place and contribute to the “malling” of the Upper West Side.
Good. Maybe now we can get a new grocery store!
I will miss their beautiful windows- now I’ll sadly be looking at another empty storefront & Hugh “space available” signs. wonder why they kept saying “not closing, just restocking.”
Sad news. Unlike Lowes, Bed-Bath and other big box stores, the staff at Gracious Home really cared & knew their stuff. Yes, it could be pricey, but everything – including the people – was quality.
I appreciated the quality of the merchandise and we were regular shoppers for our home especially when we first moved in 5 years ago. The staff was well informed, courteous and helpful, the items were beautiful and in stock. I will miss them and hope for the best for the workers.
Yes, Gracious Homes was a bit pricey, but they had the most comprehensive inventory of any local store in the area, and it was a pleasure to browse there.
I first happened into the UWS GH in 2001 on a business trip, 6 years before I moved here. I thought the store was wondrous. They had the largest selection of soap dispensers I’d ever seen, at prices from $500 to $10 (I still fondly remember my $12 purchase). Their shower curtain display was the stuff of dreams. I loved the founder’s mission statement that everyone should be able to find what they wanted there. Over time though, it seemed they lost their appreciation for shoppers at the lower end of the market. Their print catalog was just outrageous and seemed to me to actively and unnecessarily DISCOURAGE all but the rich from shopping there. I am sad. I always felt “richer” for visiting and made many delightful purchases over the years.
They were a badly overpriced mashup of Lowes, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Pottery Barn. Still, I kind of liked their upscale take on NYC life.
how thoroughly ungracious
Ho ho ho !
now there will be space for a new Barnes and Noble.
I will really miss them. I remember whEn they were “gracious”. ThEy actually had free delivery for the neighborhood and usually thE same day. Every possible piece of hardware that no one else had …lowes and bed bath can’t compare. Sorry to see them go….they always had what we needed …whether it bE a Toto valve or a friedrich screen or whatever.
Hopefully a super market or a barnes +noble would be great.
I am also very sad to see them go. Not only because they had such knowledgeable staff or because it was a little like being a kid in a candy store, but because it was a LOCAL place. Something that added texture and interest to a NYC that seems to be more and more full of big box stores, chains, etc. I agree that the prices were high. But there is a cost to the convenience of having exactly what you want when you want, in person. Actually shopping in person, for gifts, for the kitchen, for one’s home, or just for fun amongst a selection of items that have been chosen with care and an eye for quality is not the same as Bed, Bath, and Beyond–and truly a far cry from Lowe’s or Home Depot. I will especially miss the electrical department where they would fix almost anything for you and where you could always count on finding that weird little 15watt bulb you needed for your fridge or inside your oven. In my opinion, they were a lively and UNIQUE addition to our local landscape. I can’t imagine very many local businesses that could or will be able to afford the rent at their West side location. On the East side, perhaps they’ll break the spaces up again into the smaller ones Gracious Home had little by little expanded into.
This place was the pits. It deserves to close. For a long time I called it Gracious Hole. It was good when it opened. However, I watched quality decline. Staff was also surly and very nasty. I fired them some time ago. I am not surprised they are playing the victim card on their rent delinquency. They played that card with customers, too.
Even with their liquidation sale, when I went in a few weeks ago I wasn’t able to find a single thing at a price that would inspire me to buy it. I will never have the desire for a $1,500 vacuum cleaner, even if it’s marked down to a mere $1,100. Unfortunately that space will probably stay empty until another bank decides to take on the rent. Or maybe a ketchupateria, since we have a mustard emporium just a block or so away.
As with all bankruptcy/liquidation sales best selection was in the early days, however the discounts usually aren’t (and weren’t at GH) that good.
First few weeks at GH’s “clearance sale” discounts were only about ten to twenty percent on most things. When you add back in sales tax and the fact prices were normally higher than elsewhere it often wasn’t a great deal. However for some persons getting Persil detergent at those prices was a pretty good deal. And getting any Miele appliance at a sale price is largely unheard of, so those sort of things cleared out fast.
From what one understands the higher priced things (linens, lighting, appliances, plumbing, tools, etc..) were the first to sell out.
On the UES, UWS and Chelsea you have no small number of persons renovating and or moving into new apartments. Even a small discount on kitchen/major appliances can help with that budget.
In fact wouldn’t be surprised if many of the contractors and interior decorators/designers who used GH over the years weren’t the first in grabbing up things.
I really liked that store and the items they sold. Hope they revive!
The rat and the picket line were for the GAP not for GH
When all the unique stores like Gracious Home are gone it will be a sad day for the UWS and NYC.
The protesters in this photo were there for non-union workers at The Gap. Any idiot would realize that the rat is a used by union workers.
A very sad day for New York retailing.
Yes, I could do without a $600 vacuum cleaner
and wretched home fragrance oil sticks, but Christmas was magical there.
Let’s see, there’s a Duane Reade one block up so I guess the new tenant will be another Duane Reade or CVS.
Something needs to be done to control business rents like they do in London. We are losing every unique shop.
The UWS has become a concrete Midtown chain mall.
I walked by its two East side places Tuesday night, and they looked like they also about to close. Some persons called it Gracious Ripoff. I used to go to the Lincoln Center area store regularly; hardly anybody there. Sorry about laid off employees. Will Trump say anything?
*Update*
Gracious Home filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on Wednesday 14 December.
Sales for 2016 were 43 million, but that is down 20% from previous year.
Interestingly is that last Wednesday is when the UWS store suddenly closed it’s doors.
https://nypost.com/2016/12/16/gracious-home-files-for-second-bankruptcy-in-six-years/
From the WSJ:
Gracious Home, an upscale New York City housewares chain, on Wednesday filed for chapter 11 protection in the hopes of salvaging its business amid clashes with its landlords and its lender.
Robert Morrison, Gracious Home’s chief executive, blamed Gracious Home’s financial woes on the rise of people shopping online and increased competition from big-box retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond. The Manhattan retailer has also been sparring with its four landlords and its senior lender, Signature Bank, which has left the company unable to pay its debts, Mr. Morrison said in a declaration filed on Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
Signature Bank declared Gracious Home in default on its loan in May. As a result, Mr. Morrison said, the lender tightened its borrowing terms, eventually accelerating repayment of the loan. Gracious Home says this forced it to delay rent and other payments.
A forbearance agreement reached with the bank last month gave the retailer some breathing room, but Gracious Home says it came at a price: the hiring of a chief restructuring officer chosen by the bank who would start liquidating its assets.
Gracious Home’s inventory has since been sold at “below-market prices,” Mr. Morrison said, and it hasn’t been able to get approval from a Signature Bank representative to pay its landlords, suppliers or employees.
End of quote
https://www.wsj.com/articles/manhattan-housewares-chain-gracious-home-files-for-chapter-11-1481918392
N.B.
For those that cannot access WSJ link, and or do not know the work-around, just Google “Gracious Home” and the article should appear in search results.
It was truly a magnificent store. Having a price point high enough to weed out the riff raff while coupling it with knowledgable staff who took pride in their work. It was nice having some civility in the retail space on the UWS. At least the city still has ABC Home for furnishings.
By all means, we must keep the riff raft away.
GH will probably survive in some form or another. Likely it will shrink back to one or two locations (probably the two on UES), and of course their Internet presence.
The brand is a good one with plenty of goodwill attached. As many have noted GH is known for the high level of service provided. If they can leverage (and even improve) upon that coupled with the right product mix, see no reason why GH cannot hold its own against say Lowes.
While sales have decreased, GH still does a pretty good business. They just need to get their costs (in particular rents) under control.