Prime Essentials

The name says it all. As an «everything» store in Tribeca, it has almost everything that one needs including chips, cookie dough, hair products, plates, shot glasses, ice cream and candy. The products here are also not expensive, comparable, if not cheaper than what Duane Reade offers. This place is especially convenient because it is open the latest out of all the other convenient stores around (open until 11pm! It is almost unheard of in Tribeca).
Whenever I am in need of something and it is past 7pm on the weekends, this is my go-​to store. I need plastic cups, there it is. I need aluminum foil, there it is. I need a jar of pickles, there it is!

Just as the sun is setting on my life in the area, I find this super convenient and resourceful store. It’s like a small Walmart or Target (which are places I try to avoid). It doesn’t have everything but it does have lots of things that are caught in the «do loop» of «not a grocery, dry or hardware» store. It’s big but not too big.
It has groceries, beer, household supplies, pharmacy, personal care and souvenirs. For example, today I needed a plastic container of a certain size. My synapses were sending up to the Container Store on the subway. There’s a great hardware store nearby but they wouldn’t have my item. It was here.

Prime is my one stop shop. While I haven’t used their pharmacy yet, I come here often for various grocery items and any household needs. This place literally has EVERYTHING! From birthday cards and cleaning products to wine glasses and crock pots, you can find everything you need here. I’ve put together many a last-​minute cheese platters and appetizers from Prime when I’ve had unexpected guests or forgot to pick something up at the grocery store.
They have an impressive craft beer selection (not pictured in the photo I posted), small produce area (items change daily), and lots of dry goods. They also have a gift section and a pretty big selection of NYC souvenirs.
They are well staffed and they are always willing to help you find anything you need!

Great store. Very big, has a wide selection of items from convenient items to food. The manager was so sweet helped me with all my questions. Shop here all the time they have great prices and the staff is very friendly and patient.

The Pharmacy at Prime Essentials is amazing! Eunmi who works this is so compassionate and efficient! They also keep in stock my prescription which many other pharmacies do not. I am so grateful to them!

This review is for the pharmacist. She’s wonderful!
Super knowledgable, remembers her customers and watches out for their health when doctors make strong or change prescriptions. She seems smarter than some of the doctors I’ve had.
She also pointed out to me that for some of my medications my insurance was charging me more than she would, and know I’m saving money! She also gave me a great promotional chapstick (which I needed.) and fills prescriptions at lightning speed.
Also just so nice, and always positive and fun to be around. Honestly best Pharmacist I’ve ever had by leaps and bounds. I’m not a big Unilocaler at all, but she deserves to be recognized for being awesome.

The pharmacy is so ill equipped to dispense basic medication. I have tried to fill antibiotic prescriptions for a child there multiple times and they are unable to do it. They also close periodically in the middle of the day due to a lack of staffing.

I used to live in a dorm around the corner and it was one of the only convenience stores in the area. The good they sell are kind of random, but there were also options that I couldn’t find elsewhere. Some areas in the store are a bit messy.

One of my medication’s effects vary between the different generics available on the market, so sometimes I need to switch to a new pharmacy when the previous pharmacy can no longer get one of my preferred generic brands. After going to six different pharmacies in the last month looking for my medication, I finally stopped in at Prime Essentials.
«Amy» the pharmacist was extremely nice, patient, and knowledgable about my concerns without being condescending. She had one of the two brands of medication I was looking for and was totally open to ordering my preferred brand specifically when available.
I will be transferring all of my prescriptions to Prime Essentials and will recommend to my friends and coworkers thanks to the great customer service provided by the pharmacist! A+++

This store is such a treat. It is the drug store version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. When walking by, I always think of something I need and when I can’t, I go in anyway and find several things I didn’t realize I needed. For example, I walked out of there the other day with a cheap avocado, half a dozen eggs, Zapzypt zip cream (err well OK i needed that), Meyer’s hand soap and mochi ice cream. It’s got everything you think you want. even Pyrex for when you feel like baking!
The downside is that it is pricier than Duane Reade and some of the aisles are pretty dimly lit so you risk getting creeped out when bumping into random wandering weirdos like me in there. I also have to say it’s always a bit unfortunate when you have t buy your avocados from a drug store because there isn’t a grocery store within a mile vicinity of where you live in Manhattan.

I was excited when I first discovered this place because it’s close to my office and they sell an extensive amount of products from my favorite french pharmacy brand NUXE. However, I had a very unpleasant experience there recently where I was blatantly followed by one of the guys working there. HE EVEN STOOD THERE STARING AT ME THE WHOLE TIME WHILE I BROWSED THE NUXE SELECTION! They usually have 2 – 3 guys just standing at the entrance and then follow you around as you enter! To make matters worse, the NUXE products I wanted were already expired! Make sure to check the expiration date on anything you buy from here!

This review is for the pharmacy — top notch service from the lovely tech that helped me. God bless her, can’t remember her name. She was patient and helped me find coupons for all my prescriptions and was super personable and sweet. Will always come back here !!

this place has vastly improved over the years its been open, its the only place in my part of tribeca where one can get anything in an emergency. i just went there before the big blizzard and they had everything i needed, even the nice lady at the cash register told me anything i want that they don’t have they will order for me and supply the store with. even deliver if i wanted that. yes its not whole foods but i can do without the entitlement and this place is just basic and convenient.

A lot of the food items are out of date and you get followed around the store for no reason. I bought dentyne ice chewing gum that was too hard to chew and they are still selling chocolate dated which expired in October 2013

Thank goodness for PE! Staying in the Tribeca neighborhood you realize how challenging it is to find anything from a container of milk, or seltzer, to toilet paper and shampoo without being ripped off by either a Duane Reade or a Korean Deli.
More than likely you can find a good deal on any kind of basics at Prime Essentials with extremely helpful staff who go to great lengths to help you personally.
Phew!

Awesome!

This is a very useful store for the neighborhood; it’s across the street from a client of mine, which is the reason I go in.
The staff is friendly, and they have a great selection of certain things – like chocolate! – of other things, less so. I’m glad I don’t have to depend on them, but they’re a great survival store.

As soon as I walked it two ladies literally followed me around the whole store. They made me so uncomfortable I couldn’t even purchase anything. I will NEVER enter into this place again. Ridiculous.

This place is alright. It’s right by my apt so I stop in to get random stuff on the way home from work. They have everything from makeup, to tomato sauce, to almond milk, to placemats to remote control airplanes and DVDs.
The problem is they only have just a little bit of everything. If I want deodorant they only have a few kinds and the selection brings back memories of the «Raise your hand if you are SURE» commercial from the 80s. I ran out of mascara once and went here to buy some and the tube seemed like it had no mascara in it. Remember Maybelline Great Lash mascara with the neon pink tube and neon green top that your mom used in the 80s? They prob sell it here. The pharmacy is always closed. And even if they weren’t I’m not sure I would trust them to actually have some of my meds in stock.
Aside from the dated cosmetics section this place usually gets the job done. I bought butcher twine there yesterday. Most of the people that work there are pretty nice. There are a lot of people that work there though. There are always guys standing at the doors on the lookout for… I’m not sure. I’d prefer a fancy new Duane Reade with a pharmacy that is actually open in the evenings, but if I“m ever in the mood for an 80s movie night, I’ll know where to go.

This place had jewelry cleaner when Duane Reade didn’t. Phew. I really needed to make my engagement ring more sparkly before showing more friends!
I go here to get greek yogurt because it is less expensive than DR or other area stores.
The staff is really nice and the guy went to great lengths to find me that jewelry cleaner.
I didn’t realize, before actually going in, that this place sells so many groceries. From the outside it looks like a BB&B wanna be store.