M & I International, the “mecca of Eastern European food” at 249 Brighton Beach Avenue, shuttered its doors in September with plans to renovate and enlarge the building, but neighbors are threatening to oppose the construction if the landlord fails to add required parking spaces.
A rendering of what M&I International’s digs will look like when complete. (Click to enlarge)
The plans were revealed during Community Board 13′s meeting last Thursday, where the landlord’s attorney, Eric Palatnik, requested the community’s green light to build a larger than permitted structure that lacks 76 required off-street parking spaces.
“[The owner] would love nothing more than to put 100 parking spaces underground below that property. It would improve the value of his business exponentially … but he can’t. There’s water,” Palatnik noted, referring to the neighborhood’s high water table.
Palatnik said the landlord – the owner of M & I International – hopes to enlarge the two-story structure to four stories, and increase square-footage from 22,800 to 45,600 – or 11,400 square feet more than zoning allows. The two new floors will be used as a daycare and medical office, and the rent will be used to offset the renovation of the building, which suffers from a sloped first floor and varied ceiling heights, as the space has assimilated multiple buildings on five tax lots as it has grown over the years.
Global Wholesale Market at 1414 Sheepshead Bay Road is closing down, numerous readers tell Sheepshead Bites, and, currently, only the fruit-and-vegetable portion of the store is still open.
Global Wholesale Market has occupied the space for more than a decade, serving as a small supermarket for Eastern European meats, cheeses, baked goods and canned and bottled imports, alongside fresh produce.
But about a week or two ago, we’re told, they locked up the interior portion of the structure, leaving only the semi-enclosed produce area.
We stopped by today and an employee confirmed they are closing for good. The interior, it seems, is being gutted, and only a few items remain in the produce section. They will likely close by the end of the month.
Before there was Balducci’s, before there was the Chelsea Market, and even before there was Whole Foods – there was The Orchard and its owner Daniel Spitz, pioneer of the gourmet fruit and vegetable movement in New York City.
Established in 1957, The Orchard and its owners were the first to fly pineapples from Hawaii to New York City. They were even the ones to provide pineapples for the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter.
Daniel Spitz, the owner of The Orchard at 1367 Coney Island Avenue in Midwood, got some recognition on Thursday for his years of work and entrepreneurial spirit. He opened the store with only $500 in his hand, which he had earned previously from working on the streets as a local delivery man. Now at 84 years old and after 55 years in the fruit business, he was honored for his achievement and his rise from rags to riches.
After less than a year in operation, Grand Bazaar gourmet market at 2424 Coney Island Avenue, just off Avenue U, may be shutting down.
Signs recently went up in the windows offering “Everything 50 percent off” and that it is “For Sale By Owner.” We don’t know if that means the property or the business, and if a buyer pops up the market may indeed stay open under new management.
It appeared this location got off to a rocky start. We first went by and spoke to the owner in January of last year. He showed us around and told us it would be ready to open in February (and, indeed, the store looked complete, save for merchandise). But it wasn’t until July that it finally opened.
We stopped by once or twice since then to peruse and found it to be a fairly nice store, with products similarly priced to the other neighborhood “gourmet” markets. We’re not sure what went wrong, but we wish the owner the best of luck.
Welcome back to The Bite, Sheepshead Bites’ weekly column where we explore the foodstuffs of Sheepshead Bay. Each week we check out a different offering from one of the many restaurants, delis, food carts, bakeries, butchers, fish mongers, or grocers in our neighborhood. If it’s edible, we’ll take a bite.
Lobster – love it. Candy – love it. The wall of bulk candy with all the exotic packaging and foreign script – I love that too. But Lobster candy? After our little excursion two weeks ago where we explored canned eel, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to try this. I immediately tried to put it out of my mind by heading over to the pickle jars. But… Like a siren from the deep it called to me. Lobster. Candy. It teased. It cajoled. It begged. It cried. And it worked. Like a dog that’s been kicked by it’s owner once too often I haltingly headed back to the bulk candy aisle, scooped up a handful and put it in a bag. Continue Reading »
Welcome back to The Bite, Sheepshead Bites’ weekly column where we explore the foodstuffs of Sheepshead Bay. Each week we’ll check out a different offering from one of the many restaurants, delis, food carts, bakeries, butchers, fish mongers, or grocers in our neighborhood. If it’s edible, we’ll take a bite.
Usually, we here at The Bite try to avoid controversy, but it seems to find us anyway. So this week I decided to embrace the controversial, and headed out to Cherry Hill Market to throw myself in the midsts of one of the neighborhood’s biggest, most heated controversies.
And by that, I mean I picked up one of the more contentious dishes in Russian/Ukrainian cuisine: Chicken Kiev. Oh, what controversy did you think I was talking about?!
Is the landmarked Lundy’s building better off as a grocery store? That’s the way Crain’s New York makes it sound.
An article published over the weekend takes a look at Cherry Hill Gourmet Market nearly a year after its grand opening. What they found is a thriving business that they say locals need more than another restaurant. And maybe they’re right, which could have powerful implications on the Sheepshead Bay Special Zoning District, the law that determines what kind of businesses can operate on the Emmons Avenue waterfront.
We’ve been watching this location at 2424 Coney Island Avenue for months, and what was previously a rundown nightclub is now Grand Bazaar. Although everything seemed ready to go back in January, when the owner said they’d have a soft opening in February, it finally opened this week. Their small parking lot looks like it can fit about eight cars with room for two to load groceries if no truck is offloading. There is even a small sitting area outside, but its lack of shade isn’t so appealing in this weather.
Back when we first reported on Grand Bazaar, the owner told us there would be a grand opening about a month after its soft opening. And with a soft spot for celebrations with free food, we’re hoping that’s true. Stay tuned!
Grand Bazaar, a new gourmet supermarket opening at 2424 Coney Island Avenue (off of Avenue U), has construction nearly all wrapped up and hopes to be stocked and ready to go by late-February. Owner Adam Dasdemir said the market will be open 24 hours, and a grand opening is being planned shortly after next month’s “soft opening” to allow for employee training.
Like other local gourmet markets, Grand Bazaar will offer a mixed selection of fruits, vegetables, packaged foods, prepared foods and baked goods. There will be a small seating area and parking for about 15 cars.
Before working on Grand Bazaar, which replaces a local diner that bit the dust at least three years ago, Dasdemir ran an upscale Turkish restaurant and club in uptown Manhattan. He also owns Adam’s hair salon on Kings Highway for more than 20 years.
Too often when we talk about Sheepshead Bay’s gourmet markets, we talk about Cherry Hill Gourmet. That’s too bad, ’cause it means we’ve been ignoring one of our local faves – Sheepshead Bay Gourmet Market on Avenue Z.
Until last week, the business had two locations – a fruit and vegetable market on East 18th Street (also called Sheepshead Bay Fruit & Vegetables Market), and the hot food market at East 16th Street.
The latter has closed for good, workers have confirmed.
It’s too bad, because we never got to extol the virtues of this spot, where you could grab one of the better cups of coffee in the Bay, or pick up a fresh spinach pie in the morning. Sure, you may still be able to grab these items at the back of the fruit and veggie market, but the East 16th Street location had something more going for it: excellent service.
The pair of workers behind the counter – whose names I regret never asking – were always kind and friendly, and always remembered my order. I don’t know if they’ll continue on at the East 18th Street location, but I wish them luck, and thanks for always remembering the hazelnut.
