Gourmet Garage Opens Neighborhood Market in New York's West Village

Gourmet Garage held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 29 in New York's West Village neighborhood, giving New Yorkers another location in the Big Apple to “shop like a chef.” Gourmet Garage is family-owned and -operated by Village Super Market Inc., a member of the retailer-owned cooperative Wakefern Food Corp. It's newest location at 585 Hudson St. in Manhattan is the grocer's fourth overall.

Offering to "to make every day a gourmet day," Gourmet Garage is operated by the Sumas family, which includes three generations of grocers. The family also operates three other Gourmet Garage locations.

“We look forward to being the trusted go-to grocer for the West Village community and to bringing top quality, affordable produce, meat, seafood, gourmet cheeses and artisan baked goods at the best prices to our new neighbors,” Perry Blatt, a third-generation grocer with Gourmet Garage, said in a statement. “We want shoppers to feel like this is their neighborhood market.”

In fact when it came to store planning, Gourmet Garage said staff reached out to West Village residents for initial input on what they wanted in their neighborhood market. Fresh foods and accessible price points topped the list, the grocer said. Adhering to those requests, the new store offers affordable in-house chef prepared meals, breads and pastries, Gourmet Garage said in a statement. Examples of these price points include coffee for $2 a cup, a fresh prepared sandwich for less than $10 and organic bananas for less than 79 cents a pound.

Photographs courtesy of Gourmet Garage

With two floors—a new bi-level store model for Gourmet Garage—the first floor is a market dedicated to fresh produce, charcuterie, hot food and bakery options.

More than 40 varieties of sushi are rolled fresh daily by in-house sushi chefs; gourmet sandwiches are also on the menu, as well as artisanal cheeses and a Mediterranean olive bar, the grocer said. The store also offers more than 30 varieties of freshly prepared meats and to-go seafood in oven-ready tins.

Gourmet Garage said the lower floor—known as the Chef's Basement—includes a wide assortment of pantry staples and groceries, including leading national brands, premium meats, frozen foods and dairy, specialty beers, and health and beauty items.

“The entire curated store selection ensures shoppers have whatever they need for any occasion: breakfast at home, a rooftop dinner, picnic in the park or an evening snack with friends,” the grocer said.

Gourmet Garage offers online shopping with options for home delivery within two hours. The store also offers digital coupons that can be clipped and downloaded from the GourmetGarage App, the grocer said.

At the grand opening, the grocer made donations to four local organizations that were recommended by West Village residents: City Harvest, The Center (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center), Friends of Bleecker Street Playground and the New York Public Library. Gourmet Garage said it also has a partnership with City Harvest to donate fresh food from the new West Village store to the food rescue organization.

Founded in 1981 as the importer and distributor Flying Foods International, Gourmet Garage said it supplied the best restaurants and chefs in New York and other major cities with their most essential ingredients. Following its supply years, Gourmet Garage opened its first retail location in SoHo.