The Blog For Insatiable Westchester Diners
Jan 25, 2010
11:46 AM
Fairway Markets: Soon We’ll be Tripping on ’Em
By Julia Sexton
So, at the prodding of one of my readers, Caseycat, I followed up with the folks at Fairway, who once projected a 2009 opening of their Pelham Manor site that—you guessed it—didn’t quite happen. (See, I read all your posts with intense interest, because I like you, each and every one of you.) To be honest, I can’t blame Caseycat for being apprehensive. Last year’s economic swan-dive meant that there are a lot of stalled and abandoned projects—including Danny Meyer’s Greenwich Blue Smoke Chop House planned for the still-ruined HoJo’s off I-95. I mean, what if the Pelham Fairway turns out to be a fiction, too?
Here’s the scoop. First, it’s actually going to happen. The build-out is nearly complete, with the Pelham Fairway projected for an early April opening. (Sources claim it might even debut in March, but when has a much-anticipated opening happened early?) The new site is vast, 75,000 square feet, occupying the Route 1 spot that ancients remember as a Korvette’s, and, later, a Caldor. Though no cold room is planned—which works for me; I find loaner jackets skeevy—the Pelham Manor spot will have all the Steve Jenkins-curated cheese and Ray Venezia meats that still draw me to the Harlem store. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m exhausted by trying to source poussin, magret, crème fraiche, or even pork roasts at Whole Foods. We’re talking habitual, dreary shoot-downs, though Whole Foods does have a pretty produce section and a hot Indian food buffet, if you like that kind of thing (and I don’t judge).
And then, of course, there’s the Fairway Liquors being discussed for right next-door to the Pelham site. That’s right, taking a page from Stew Leonard’s (not to mention Port Chester’s Batali/Bastianich at Tarry Fine Foods and Tarry Wines, the Pelham Manor site is projecting a connected—though not in-store like in most civilized countries, that’s apparently still illegal—wine and liquor venue operated under the Fairway brand. (Final licenses are still pending.) We’re excited to see how Fairway’s marketing niche, which I’ll classify as “urban-grubby,” will be manifest in wines and booze. We’re still gnashing our teeth that none of Westchester’s three Trader Joe’s spots offer next-door wine stores, as they do in Manhattan and elsewhere. I’d love to fob off the fabled Chardonnay “Two Buck Chuck” from Trader Joe’s on my most irritating oenophile friends—though a good sub is Tarry Lodge’s honest Joe’s Rosso at $29 a bottle, which we hope he sells at Tarry Wines for under $8.
Though no Fairway Steakhouse is planned (and no word yet on lobster rolls which proved such a draw at the Red Hook store), the Pelham Manor Fairway will sport a large Fairway Café. Expect a wide selection of reasonably cheap, popular snacks, soups, and sandwiches, which will make the perfect refreshment after battling through Fairway’s trench-like aisles for boutique farmhouse cheese. (PS: if you see that Knight de Fromage Steve Jenkins in Pelham, DO NOT ask him a stupid question. I once saw him eat a callow Barnard student alive after she enquired about an absent, mass-produced cheese.)
According to sources at Fairway, the Café’s dining options will be conceptual, as in: “the Pelham Café will consist of multiple culinary segments to include a Fresh tortilla concept where we will be making our own tortillas for use in our Mexican themed station. In addition we have a full line of gourmet prepared entrees and sides, a panini and brick oven pizza concept, a signature chopped salad concept, create your own sandwich concept, our famous sushi bar, a full-service coffee bar with espresso-based drinks and artisanal baked goods. We will also be featuring our signature hot and grain bars as well as a self-service beverage center.”
And if Pelham Manor is a bit of a haul for you (though the new store will be right off I-95), there’s an upcoming Stamford, Connecticut, Fairway planned to debut this fall. That’s right—the company that brought a last year’s Paramus branch is doing two stores in 2010. Reportedly, the Stamford store is practically ready to go, and only sitting in the wings until the Pelham site is successfully launched.
Interested? Annoyed? Want to see your name in print? Shoot me a line, I’d love to hear from you.
Email
Print
FeedAdvertisement
About This Blog
The blog for insatiable Westchester diners.
Recent Posts
- Cabbage Patch | Comments: 0
- Eater Hot Date: Winemaker Roz Seysses, The Wines of David Sampedro, and Scottish Night at Morton’s | Comments: 0
- Gyro-Scope: First Look at Eliá Greek Taverna | Comments: 0
- Pork Heaven: House-Cured Ham and Sausage at Harvest-on Hudson | Comments: 0
- Eater Hot Links | Comments: 0
- This Week, Down-County Greek and Harvest's Air-Cured Pork-Stravaganza | Comments: 1
- HV Restaurant Week, March 15-28: Tip Your Waiters! | Comments: 12
- Chat: Scarsdale’s New Bar and Grill | Comments: 0
- Eater Alert: Mambo For Haiti | Comments: 0
- Mexican Coke Hits the County: A Blind Taste Test | Comments: 5
Archives
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
Reader Comments:
Seeing as how this is a Westchester Magazine, I wasn't expecting Stmaford, CT to be the answer to "if Pelham Manor is a bit of a haul for you". For those of us in Northern Westchester, I was expecting to hear news of something further north (which I know they have no announced plans for at this point). Pelham is a little closer than going to the Paramus location, and at least there are no tolls, but it's still a schlep.
Fairway must be pleased with the level of anxiety we are all displaying. I was at 125th St last week and asked the meat department whether there will be kosher meat in Pelham and then asked the cheese department the same thing. The answer to both was "everything we have here we will have there." Is that possible?
After spending ten years shoppping on the UWS, I witnessed first hand the real birth of F'way as a food shopping mecca. For the twelve years I have been back in W'chester, it requires a minimum of three stores (stops) to get my groceries accomplished. For me, "any Fairway is better to no Fairway". Bring it on.
Grandma2010 - I asked my source about what will and won't make it up to Pelham and the short answer is "yes", there will be a kosher section. In fact, the Pelham store will be Fairway's largest yet - so all the sections that you currently find at 125th Street will be expanded in Pelham, including its kosher section. My source claims that additional products will be available in Pelham simply because there is more room to fill.
MrBill - I feel your pain. As I say, I'm currently dragging into Harlem (and paying a toll) to provision my own kitchen. And now the Harlem parking lot - which was once the most beautiful parking lot in Manhattan, if you could avoid the river rats - has been shunted into the dark under the dripping highway. Bummer
J. Sexton
thrilled that Fairway is coming to Westchester, but must admit there's something kind of rewarding about shopping in the Harlem Fairway--elbowing your way through the crowded produce section, shivering, sneezing and coughing through the meat locker, and then learning Spanish on the checkout line. Will Westchester's Fairway has as much panache?
I know - crab as I might about the drive, I actually love the Harlem Fairway. It feels like an old-fashioned street market: crowds, smells, puddles of unsavory fluids. I love the crazy, intense cart-management system, and the killer Hudson sunsets. Once, getting out of my car in the old lot, I was saluted by an entire ship of sailors during Fleet Week. I'll miss the Harlem store, though the Pelham branch will only be a few miles from my home.
The location for the Pelham Manor Fairway is not right off I-95. It is located at exit 7 of the Hutch. The northbound Hutch is perenially backed up at this spot.
For those who want to get there via I-95, take exit 15 and travel south on Boston Post Road for a mile.
For a town of 12,000 residents, the villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor are notable for their wasting of tax dollars. They have two police departments, two fire departments and two village administrations.
For the many decades Pelham Manor had almost no commercial tax base, it buttered its pasta with traffic tickets issued along the Boston Post Road (BPR) and environs. I pity those BPR northbounders who overshoot Fairway and try to make a left turn onto one of the residential streets in Pelham Manor. This is a community inhospitable to non-residents, so the shopping experience is likely to be marred for many who happen to have a burned out tail light, cracked windshield or expired inspection sticker.
Just FYI for readers--
Fairway is looking to hire staffers for its Pelham outlet. Here's the press release, courtesy of Susan Graziano at Dan Klores Communication:
FAIRWAY MARKET LOOKING TO HIRE CASHIERS, PREP COOKS, DELI COUNTER SERVERS AND BAKERY WORKERS FOR NEW PELHAM MANOR STORE
JOB FAIR TO BE HELD IN WHITE PLAINS ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2010
Pelham Manor, NY – (February, 2010) Fairway Market, New York’s iconic supermarket, known for its great variety of superior quality fresh food from around the globe at the most competitive prices, is looking to fill key positions for the new Pelham Manor location. The 75,000 square foot store (895 Pelham Parkway in the Post Road Plaza Shopping Center) is the sixth and largest Fairway yet.
The Job Fair will be held on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 from 9:30 am until 4 pm at the NYS Dept. of Labor offices in White Plains. Positions available are cashiers, experienced café prep cooks and cooks, deli counter servers and bakery workers and these will be the only jobs to be filled at this event. No appointments are necessary.
WHAT: Pelham Manor Fairway Market Job Fair 2010
WHEN: Tuesday, February 23, 2010
9:30 to 4 p.m.
WHERE: NYS Dept. of Labor
120 Bloomingdale Rd
White Plains, NY 10605
(Call Ruth McMonigle at 646 616 8091 for more information)
And one last paean to the Harlem Fairway: how about 12th Ave.'s stunning cathedral of steel holding up Riverside Drive? Driving on this always feels exciting --no wonder Michel Gondry used it for that White Stripes video.
I was wondering how I can apply for a job at Fairway Market that will be opening in Stamford, CT? I live in Stamford and know the area very well.
In fact, there was a Kings Department Store and Gran Central market on the same site in the 1970's and closed in the 1980's.
Where may I apply for a position?