Gristedes

I used to shop here frequently over the course of the past 15 years. It’s a large store, but it’s easy to find everything because the aisles are well spaced apart. I always felt the prices were good, but occasionally I experienced freshness issues — enough to keep me on my toes. I kept coming because I live very close by.
However, a couple of weeks ago I had a nasty encounter with the two checkout girls who assisted me (one was checking out, the other was bagging — and both kept up a running conversation with each other the entire time). They did not give me all the groceries I paid for, but must have mistakenly (or on purpose?) kept back one of my grocery bags. I came back to the store within twenty minutes and politely asked the two ladies if one of my bags had been left behind. I thought it was likely, because they were paying so little attention to what they were doing (although I didn’t mention or imply this).
Both girls immediately began to raise their voices, each contradicting the other — one girl said, «No it’s not possible, because there was no one behind you» and the other girl said, «No, the person behind you on line bought only ice cream.» I appealed to the manager, who seemed cowed by his own employees, and who credited me for the items that were missing — only about $ 10, but still. The girls were loudly commenting about me, my hairdo, how I was lying, the entire time — it was pretty unbelieveable.
Needless to say, I’ve given the bulk of my shopping business to Fairway up 86^th Street, which actually does have better prices on fresher meat, as well as a much larger selection of everything you can imagine. However, I did drop in on this Gristede’s one more time earlier this week because I was in a hurry — and the entire place reeked. Apparently, they were working on the sewage pipes.
Hearing the property here was sold and this Gristede’s will be torn down — no loss for the community in its present state.

I don’t see why everyone hates on this place. They pretty much have everything you would need from the grocery store. YES, it’s overpriced. But so is everything else in manhattan! It’s not any more $$$ than food emporium or Morton Williams. Do I prefer trader joes or fairway? Hell yeah, but sometimes you just don’t have the time or patience to deal with those places! This place is fine to run in quick for a few things!

With the bigger and cleaner supermarket a block away, I honestly do not know how this place is still open. Sure, they have a «flower shop», but is that enough to want to keep coming here? There’s a florist across the street!
The building itself is pretty run-​down. Even their automatic doors don’t work that well. Their bakery department is ok, but I wouldn’t dare buy any of the pre-​boxed items. They keep the store well-​stocked, but I guess that’s not really an issue when there’s not that much traffic to begin with. They are also pretty disorganized, and it’s hard to find an associate if you need help, especially at the registers — there have been times when I had to wait for one to check me out. Lastly, their price range is on the high side; almost like what you would pay at a convenience store high.
The only thing I like about this supermarket is that it’s very close to my job. But even then, it’s still touch and go, since checkout doesn’t always go smoothly.

How does any Gristede’s location stay in business? Honestly. I don’t understand. There is not a listing for the one on East End and 81^st for me to gripe about, but I have been in this location as well and think they are both terrible (though the one on East End is definitely worse). These stores are dirty, dated, and the food is horrifically expensive. Literally 2−3x what you would pay anywhere else. Only exceptions I have found are their Shop Rite generics like milk or yogurt, which I will buy in a pinch because I forgot to get them while I was shopping at some better grocery store. Given we have so many options in this city for grocery stores (plus Fresh Direct and the like), how does this chain stay alive? It defies comprehension.

There is nothing profound about this grocery store. It’s dirty like most Gristedes, and is overpriced in most categories. I generally only purchase Shop Rite private label brands here since they’re well priced. I also purchase sliced American Cheese from the deli when it’s on sale for $ 3.99 or $ 4.99 a lb. However, there never is consistency as to the thickness of the cheese, and some at the deli counter pile each slice into a sloppy mess.
The produce looks depressing and is waaaay over priced for such bad quality. The lighting is like that of a hospital. I usually either go to Fairway down the street or just trek across town to a Trader Joe’s for most of my shopping needs these days.

This place is okay. I normally came here to shop late night when I worked in the UES, so I don’t have to worry about bumping into anyone. The produce are fresh and they have all the basics. I never noticed this place as being overpriced. It’s not the cleanest place but I live in the Bronx so I’m used to a bit of dinginess in supermarkets. Others mentioned expired products, I’ll have to keep an eye on that. Also, I don’t have to deal with maneuvering around annoying people like at fairway.

saw a rat run behind the deli slicer.
i don’t care that they have a nice flower selection outside (who i think is a third part vendor).
rat on the deli counter is a dealbreaker.

Worst customer service ever! There’s two cashiers who are good, (1) a young tall guy, and (2) a 40 something very courteous woman. All the others are super super rude. They don’t even say «thank you» after you pay! They definitely give you the impression that you’re doing them a disservice by buying something. There’s a young girl who is manageresque in the drug section, and she’s good too, but everyone else is so horrible that I’ve stopped shopping there unless it’s late night (they’re open 24 hours). So, if you’re coming off the train definitely go to Fairway. The food is better quality, the prices are about the same, but the customer service is great.

Horrible. Dirty, expensive, old product, staff that is literally there counting minutes until they leave or spending more time avoiding checking people out than actually checking them out. Just awful. Please either 1. get a new manager and new staff or 2. get that supermarket out of that giant piece of real estate and put a trader joes or something functional.

Having grown up in the suburban northeast, I take my supermarkets very seriously. It was something of a culture shock when I first moved to Boston and discovered… grocery stores can be UGLY. This was even worse when I moved to NYC, as… well let’s face it. Go to a grocery store in NH or somewhere in CA and then contrast and compare. It may be the greatest city in the world, but I don’t exactly want to buy produce from most places here.
Things got a little better when I ventured out of Harlem and discovered D’Agostinos and Gristedes. I prefer the latter over the former because the way they present the goods; they are reminicent of Market Baskets from NH, which is what I need my grocery stores to be. That said, I’ve had some time in my years here to price things out verses some of the other places I go. Gristedes rips you off, man. This one in particular.
I will still go here periodically — it’s still somehow less sad than my local grocery store, and it occasionally has Friendly’s Black Rasberry ice cream, which I’ve discovered is extremely hard to find in NYC. I just went here to buy tea bags and chicken, and one of the clerks was SO RUDE to me (she wasn’t even the one who rang me up) that’s it’s enough to consider never going back. I get it — I worked at a grocery store, and it was a pretty miserable experience. But the people who work here? Rude for no reason? No thank you.

OK, so apparently Whippet’s are $ 6.99 at this Gristede’s, too. You know, if I’m paying $ 6.99 for a box of cookies, there better be Mallomars in that box. But, even then, I wouldn’t pay $ 6.99 for them. Heck, even Newman O’s at the most overpriced deli in Bushwick are $ 5. What the hell, Gristede’s?
So, rant out of the way, why does this Gristede’s rate 2*, when the other Gristede’s, a block away on York, got 1*? Well, this one is slightly better. I’d actually be willing to give it 2.5*, but I can’t bring myself to give it a full 3* (any store that has the nerve to charge $ 6.99 for a box of Whippets– which, let’s be honest, is the poor man’s Mallomar– can only rise so high). But, why?
— It’s open 24 hours. Yes, convenience gets some points.
— A decent selection. Decent produce.
— The aisles aren’t ridiculously narrow. We’re not talking the glories of a suburban Wegman’s, but for NYC standards, OK.
— Yes, the seltzer selection is good here, too.
— The check-​out chics LOVE my wallet.
— Overall, it is cheaper than the Food Emporium.

Gristede’s… ugh.
It’s one of the most expensive supermarkets for the terrible quality you get. Sure, some things are not too bad, but the cereals are particularly expensive (more than $ 6 for a box? gtfoh).
The produce is expensive and it is not good quality. Tomatoes are soft, lettuce is past its prime.
I only shopped here because it was around the corner from my apt and was open 24hrs.
Avoid it.
There are also a lot of people who pick out food that has been thrown out in front of the store. I think they are called dumpster divers, but I call them cheap. The people who do it live on the UES, you’d think they would refrain from digging through trash to get food. The homeless, who one would think would be the ones doing it, don’t do it (maybe they’re not really that hungry?).