Fresh Produce, Cheese for Greene and Grand (Ah!)
The folks who brought salvation to Clinton Hillers last year in the form of espresso, pastries and prepared foods at Choice will be opening a new spot with complementary fare two blocks away in the former laundromat at 214 Greene Avenue. (Full Disclosure: Choice used to advertise on Brooklyn Record.) The lease started yesterday and…
The folks who brought salvation to Clinton Hillers last year in the form of espresso, pastries and prepared foods at Choice will be opening a new spot with complementary fare two blocks away in the former laundromat at 214 Greene Avenue. (Full Disclosure: Choice used to advertise on Brooklyn Record.) The lease started yesterday and we got a sneak peek at the space last night. Our first impression was that it was much bigger than we expected; our second impression was that they’ve got a lot of work to do. That said, the raw material is there: There’s an old tin ceiling that will add beaucoup d’ambience and a cute backyard. When it opens (hopefully by Labor Day), the as-yet-unnamed store will offer fresh local produce, lots of high-end cheeses and charcuterie, fresh cut flowers and a whole lot more. Still up for grabs is the former barbershop next door. GMAP
Their staff needs a crash course at Bagel Delite. Now THOSE guys know service. Maybe Thierry can just take some undercover videotape of rush hour at Bagel Delite and then screen it over cupcakes for his staff.
2:19 — great post.
PLEASE PEOPLE LOOK AROUND.
I don’t mean just in your own backyard or neighborhood, but all of New York City. There is crap crap crap crap crap, dressed up occasionally as decent, but still CRAP.
We are BLESSED to have this crew of people, with their genuine love of food and inspired, artisitic take on presentation and atmosphere, gracing our particular corner of the world. It could have been anyone. It could have been some more CRAP, but we, for some weird reason, got Choice.
I wish there was a place like that for every community.
So just appreciate our luck. And if you can’t, go elsewhere. There are plenty of laundromats to make your life oh so much more convenient and clean.
IM SOOOOOO HAAAPPPPYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO happy to hear the news. It seems that (if prior threads are to be believed) fresh cut flowers are VERY high on the list for many of the residents, so that’s a good decision, too.
Hoping against all hope that they’ll figure out some way to speed up the service, too. I really almost never go to Choice because I don’t want to spend the time. Which is shame, because Thierry is a hella nice guy and the food is delicious.
to o pl e a sed to ty pe
Because of this post, I went over and got sammies and cupcakes today at Choice, and I’m eating them right now, and they are absolutely DELICIOUS! Yay! But all the above posters are right about the RIDICULOUSLY slow service, and somebody should print out this thread and give it to management–yo, dude, *free* consulting, you’re very welcome. I agree that it’s a systemic problem, but it’s also a staff problem, which is to say, TRAINING. You can learn how to read your customers, recall who’s been standing there for 30 minutes, as I did today, and respond with a sense of caring (if not urgency) when people have been waiting too long. If you don’t, even people who like your food will avoid you when they don’t have an hour of their life to waste standing around. Also, for the record, the lunch crowd was as racially diverse as the neighborhood at large, and posters who think African Americans only want crap retail should really just be ignored–it’s obviously untrue. Thanks.
welcome!!! choice is great, food is delicious, the people who run it are wonderful and yes…the service is slow. but, really, when have you ever had such good food?? also, as an aside, it is totally different that the whitewashed pic some people who have clearly never been there are painting. it caters to a diverse crowd who show up day after day – mommies (black and white), students, people working in the area, etc…
anyone who says other wise just hasn’t been there. (I go almost every day, so I def see the other regulars!
This type of store fills such a void in the neighborhood, I think their business will be almost guaranteed.
People seem to be clamoring for new business on Fulton St too — what will it take? There’s a building for sale on Fulton and Waverly, right?
Hah–I would have scooped Brownstoner on this story had I not been a lazy bugger without a blog to call his own. I overheard the owner sitting with his lawyer/architect (?) and discussing a new lease in the neighborhood. He’s always been a friendly enough guy to me, but I didn’t want to pry by asking where exactly they were opening the new store. It’s great news–whine about gentrification and sluggish service elsewhere, please. Was the corner of Greene and Grand so much better off when it was served by a laundromat? As a moderate-income renter myself, I’m quite sensitive to the vagaries of NYC real estate and the potential dangers of gentrification, but the new attention that Fort Greene/Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy have gotten over the last few years has been a huge benefit to long-term homeowners of whatever hue in that area. Ask them if they’re pining for the glory days of the late ’80s and early ’90s, when Lafayette between Washington and Classon wasn’t quite so chic, and I suspect we’d get a different answer from what anonymous armchair revolutionaries would have us believe…