Shoppers in the northern part of Brooklyn Heights once again have a grocery store, thanks to the reopening last Friday of a completely overhauled Gristedes supermarket, a store that had been gutted by a fire in April.
Though not universally popular, the Gristedes was certainly missed by shoppers in the area around Henry and Clark streets.
“We were in such a pinch — I’ve really missed having something down at this end,” said longtime Orange Street resident Jackie Bernard. “It’s a big improvement over last time, and it’s bright, airy, and clean. It’s good.”
How big a deal was this supermarket reopening? Borough President Markowitz, Councilman David Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights) and state Sen.-elect Daniel Squadron (D–Brooklyn Heights) were on hand with Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis for the ribbon-cutting.
The fire presented Catsimatidis with the opportunity to gut the busy, but unbeloved, store. It now offers a coffee bar, in-house bakery for cakes, pies and cookies, an extensive prepared meals section, a deli, and an expanded organic foods department.
The layout changed as well, and now aisles are arranged to make the 12,000-square-foot space feel bigger, Catsimatidis said.
