Gourmet Fresh Not So Good for Good Food

The opening of the new food market Gourmet Fresh may have caused some Carroll Gardens residents to celebrate. But for Al Sale, the owner of the 30-year-old Good Food, two doors down, not so much. Turns out not everything there will be either gourmet or fresh. "The arrival of a competing business did not come as a surprise," writes the NY Times. "But Mr. Sale said he had thought that the owners, a local family who previously ran a Key Food in the area, would focus on epicurean items and prepared foods, an expectation that vanished with the arrival of trucks that were also laden with standard items like Coca-Cola." The folks at Gourmet Fresh think their store will bring more business to Mr. Sale, but he's not buying the argument; the store is apparently much snazzier than its older counterpart.
Trouble, Two Doors Down [NY Times]
Photo from A Brooklyn Life.

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Give the people what they want or else someone else will!! That said, lets hope that Gouremt Fresh's rent and other operating costs are not too much for this economic environment.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 27, 2008 9:32 AM

is this like one of those faux bodegas that sells overpriced faux organic chips instead of plain ole doritos and stuff? what's up with all those places btw.

-rob

Posted by: PitbullNYC at October 27, 2008 9:39 AM

rob - it's called changing to appeal to a changing demographic and trying to succeed as a business.

Warning sign of gentrification: soy milk appears at the bodega. The game is over once the rice milk shows up.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 27, 2008 10:51 AM

It's called capitalism. I would expect that Good Food's business might dip, as people are curious about the new place. If Gourmet Fresh is nothing but hype, then most people will see through that pretty quickly. If Good Food has good groceries at good prices, and has responded to the changes in the neighborhood, then it'll survive.

Something tells me, however, that Mr. Sale has been coasting off the fact that he was the only game in town for a long time.

Posted by: BrooklynButler at October 27, 2008 10:58 AM

BrooklynButler...your last sentence probably sums it up; which is why Gourmet fresh is now giving the people what they want. That said, as times get tougher, people will not pay the extra money for the organic, high end stuff. Look at the problems Whole Foods is having around the country. The only place doing well nationally is WalMart. Even Wise chips might be considered high end there!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 27, 2008 11:06 AM

boo. all the newer organic bodegas overcharge for cigarettes (i know i know whatever). real bodegas carry bootleg cigarettes for much much cheaper. ah well, i should quit smoking anyway.

Posted by: PitbullNYC at October 27, 2008 11:13 AM

"Something tells me, however, that Mr. Sale has been coasting off the fact that he was the only game in town for a long time."

totally true. after the KeyFood turned into a CVS, GoodFood was the only "supermarket", although the surrounding bodegas have the same food. that's what it boils down to...Good Food was just a slightly larger bodega. Nothing special...faded packages on the shelves...crappy selection.

The things that he could have done well with are the things that people are smart enough to go across the street to Caputos to buy, like fresh mozarella, bread, cold cuts.
That guy made no effort. Half the time I went in there to buy a loaf of bread or some mozarella (and only because caputos was closed and i was desparate) he'd say 'its all gone'...and this would be at like 6pm on a saturday. hello?

Posted by: CGmodern at October 27, 2008 11:21 AM

Brooklyn Butler and CG are totally right.

I've popped into GoodFood after hitting up Caputo's. The store isn't clean, and the limited produce is ratty. I will be happy to shop at Gourmet Fresh if the quality and selection is good.

Posted by: tinarina at October 27, 2008 11:32 AM

Sounds like Mr. Sale got what he deserved.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 27, 2008 11:34 AM

So life will go back to how it was when the Key Foods was open. I don't see this as a particularly relevant story.

Posted by: spnder at October 27, 2008 1:01 PM

I had Gourmet Fresh cater my Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners and to say that I was pleased is an understatement. I went to the store after seeing their ad in Clipper magazine. I was pleased by their willingness to work with me to re-create my normal Christmas Eve (Italian food and seafood) and traditional Italian Christmas dinner.

The food was abundant and superior in quality. It was a great value.

I will definitely use Gourmet Fresh for any future catering needs I may have and have been spreading the word around.

Posted by: ChisonoIndovina at December 31, 2008 12:08 PM

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October 27, 2008

Gourmet Fresh Not So Good for Good Food

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