These Three Guys are ringing in 20 years!
A staple Southern Brooklyn grocer with deep Kings County roots is celebrating its latest two decades in business this month by slashing prices on items to reflect what the goods cost when the store reopened in 1998, one of its bigwigs said.
“We want to let people enjoy the anniversary with us by paying a little less for some items,” said Three Guys from Brooklyn co-owner Scott Zimmerman.
For two decades, residents of Dyker Heights, Bay Ridge, and Sunset Park have filled their pantries with items from the market at 6502 Fort Hamilton Pkwy., near 65th Street. And to say thanks to its loyal patrons, the shop’s owners are offering promotional pricing on roughly 15 to 20 products from June 20 to 25, according to another honcho, who could not confirm the exact items on sale by press time, but said they will likely include some fruits, veggies, and other household staples such as milk or eggs.
“The whole thing is meant to give back to the people who have been coming here all these years,” said co-owner Phil Penta, Jr. “And we’re creating awareness that we’re still here.”
Zimmerman’s father, Stanley Zimmerman, first opened the grocer selling fruits and vegetables at its current Fort Hamilton Parkway location with his brother Howard and brother-in-law Harry — the original “three guys” — back in 1975.
The operation expanded over the years to include other locations before its first trio of owners closed the business, according to Penta, whose father reopened the store at its original location with Howard and Scott Zimmerman in 1998.
And when Howard Zimmerman died in a tragic motorcycle accident five years later, the younger Penta took over his partnership stake, rising from store employee to co-owner along with his dad and the younger Zimmerman, who are the “three guys” overseeing the retailer today.
Achieving 20 consecutive years in business required the new triumvirate of owners to combat trends such as the rise of online grocery shopping with initiatives that included the launch of a loyalty program to reward customers who buy in-store and a wholesale service that hawks Three Guys’s produce to larger businesses, Penta said.
And by embracing digital-marketing strategies, the homegrown grocer is finding new ways to stand out among chains such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods that are steadily opening more and more outposts across the borough, he said.
“We’ve had to recreate ourselves throughout the years,” Penta said. “We’re not going anywhere in the digital age.”
But customer-loyalty programs and other perks are just the icing on the cake for long-time shoppers, who know what makes Three Guys from Brooklyn so special is its presence in the community, where locals know they can come in for some fresh produce — and leave with a new friend, according to its proprietor.
“It’s not just a business,” said Penta, who with his co-owners also participates in various neighborhood fund-raisers. “It’s a place where neighbors run into each other and people meet. It’s really cool to watch.”
Three Guys from Brooklyn [6502 Fort Hamilton Pkwy. between 65th Street and 66th Street in Dyker Heights, (718) 748–8340, www.3guysfrombrooklyn.com]. Sun-Sat, 24 hours a day.
