Second shelf life: Clinton Hill co-op market debuts new digs
By Julianne Cuba. Photos by Jason Speakman.
It’s a fresh start!
Leaders of a decade-old co-operative market in Clinton Hill celebrated the store’s reopening in a brand-new space with a two-day shopping event last weekend that packed its aisles with first-time and loyal customers.
“The reception from the community was really terrific,” said Greene Hill Food Co-op manager and member Lindsay Reichart. “It’s really exciting.”
The grocer debuted its new Bedford-Stuyvesant–adjacent digs on Fulton Street between Classon Avenue and Claver Place on Aug. 4 following a three-month closure after its former landlord booted the co-op from its original Putnam Avenue spot earlier this year.
Some members feared the worst for the store’s stash of organic nuts, fruits, and vegetables after it received the eviction notice, but Greene Hill leaders launched an online effort to raise funds for a move that netted enough cash to relocate the emporium to an old furniture store a few blocks away.
Fresh fruit: Co-op members Calixte Kabwa and Mariana Templin show off some of the fresh produce at the newly opened Greene Hill Food Co-op on Sunday.
The co-op cadre also staged events to collect even more cash to cover costs of retrofitting the space with new fridges, freezers, and shelves, Reichart said.
And now, the socialist supermarket’s roughly 300 members are settling into its new home, and look forward to continue peddling their unique brand of purchasing to the neighborhood, she said.
“We’re all very excited to move forward and provide this type of grocery experience to the community,” Reichart said.