Thursday, May 26, 2011

Greenline Has Flatlined

Well, that is apparently the end of Greenline Organic.... As a commenter posted here this afternoon -- and I just confirmed with my own two eyes -- the organic grocer has been taken over by the marshalls. It's a sad development, but probably not a huge surprise given Natural and the Organic Market so close by... nevertheless, it is always sad to see a business try and fail, especially here in Forest Hills.




12 comments:

  1. Very disappointing, but they've been barely hanging on for a while now. I kept trying to shop there but it was totally understocked. :(

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  2. I don't necessarily think Greenline failed due to its proximity to Natural and the Organic store. If this was true, then you wouldn't have intersections that had three gas stations or McDonalds a block away from a Burger King.

    I only went in three times and the reason I never went in more than that was the fact that their shelves were fully stocked but with only a few different items, the two fridge sections were impossible to get to if someone else was there (usually an employee sweeping or stocking shelves) and that the employees were too busy chatting with each other or sweeping than to help me.

    I went in three times because you and someone else said how friendly they were and I kept thinking they were having an off day.

    A lot of stores that are failing in our neighborhood are filled with workers that have a "ugh. really? do you really have to bother me?" and/or "we're in Forest Hills. We're Klassy (use of K intentional)" attitude and it's a HUGE shame because our neighborhood could be a really fantastic place that people would want to hang out it in versus insisting we hang out in Brooklyn or Astoria.

    I am hard pressed to come up with a "Forest Hills has the best x or Forest Hills is the only place that has y" sentence. We have no outdoor beer garden or restaurant row run by young innovative chefs or a green market or even a strong ethnic group that has littered our shops with exotic new flavors. I don't know who is at fault for that but it really depresses me that I only shop in Forest Hills out of necessity versus desire. If I can, I do my shopping/eating in Manhattan and schelp everything on the train.

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  3. Thanks for the excellent comment Anonymous. I don't agree with everything you said, such as the characterization of the shop workers here - I haven't experienced that myself. But I totally agree with your point about: "it really depresses me that I only shop in Forest Hills out of necessity versus desire." This is why I am enthusiastic about stores like Emily's Sugar Rush - these kinds of stores add flavor to the local shopping and give it some local personality, and make it fun to shop and live here, not a chore. We need a lot more retailers like that here.

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  4. Drake: Do the shopkeepers know about your blog and what you look like?

    The attitude problem I am speaking of is generally in the shops that sell women's clothing and a few of the other shops that sell decorative items and stuff. Maybe they think I don't have money to spend or maybe they think I don't speak English but it's been bad enough that I won't go back.

    I refuse to go to the Bonfire Grill after I tried talking to the manager at Bonfire about a waitress that disappeared mid meal only to be told that I was making stuff up and that NO ONE who worked there would act like that. I know that customers can be jerks and I appreciate a boss who is on the side of his workers but there are better ways to deal with people especially if you want to be a neighborhood favorite. Obviously they are not effected by my lack of patronage but I think the fact that they don't have a line of people waiting outside keeps other restaurant owners from opening up in our neighborhood.

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  5. Drake is the hairy guy wearing an Edge of the City Blog t-shirt. Even with that, nobody knows who he is.

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  6. More failed businesses in Forest Hills.

    Yeehaw. 123 Shoot shoot shoot.

    There is a reason why the Texan economy is doing extremely well right now while NYC aint.

    I tell it like it is. Just more urban waste in retail.

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  7. FH always fails at providing the people of the neighborhood with what they want. We want good food, and good stores that will sell us quality items at Queens prices, NOT Manhattan prices. Why is this so difficult? Is it the high rent? I don't know.

    As to the Sugar Rush store, have they brought in quality chocolates and candies yet? If so, the only other thing for them to do is lower their prices. Again, this is FH, not Manhattan. If the residents of FH could afford to live in Manhattan, they would. There is a reason why we are living here instead.

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  8. Drakeavich,
    They're clearing out the store as we speak. they're letting ppl come in and pick the bones! Go in there and get some gluten free product!

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  9. Bonfire Grill's staff is rude, aloof and jerks. I had an experience where I waited for 20 minutes for a waitress to take my order. I just got up and left and, upon leaving, was told "good riddance" by the barman. I'll use that line when Bonfire shuts down. What kind of business allows its workers to conduct themselves like this?

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  10. It's difficult to start a new business and stick around; too many factors are involved in becoming a success.

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  11. The rent is always the issue. Some shops have rents just a shade under that of a manhattan space with easily half the foot traffic. The landlords are greedy. Cord Meyer is even worse!

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