Food Emporium

Good if you want to get some normal items (i needed bleach) and you can’t deal with tribeca whole foods (who would never carry the items I needed). No complaints. As FE’s go, this is a nice one with nice staff. Most of them are disgusting.

If Dante were living in Tribeca today, thinking of how best to begin his «Inferno», he might set the first 20 or 30 stanzas at Food Emporium, Greenwich St. Has there ever been such a collection of unhappy, hateful people working under one roof? Not since the 14^th Century, I would bet. And the prices! Not only is it expensive, but the price you see on the shelf is, at least 50% of the time, not the price you will pay at the register. You will pay more! Much more! And the delightful Food Emporium employees will gleefully tell you that the price is the price at the register, not the price on the shelf. This place is a marvelous example of the first rule of real estate: Location, location, location. If this were not the only grocery store within a half mile it would have gone out of business long ago. How it survives, even given it’s unique location, is a mystery when one considers just how terrible an experience awaits every shopper how dares to enter here. «Una selva oscura» indeed. Go somewhere else, anywhere else.

Good if you want to get some normal food and don’t feel like dealing with the typical whole foods clientele. No complaints.

As a non-​Manhattanite, I’d say this is not big enough to qualify as a supermarket; «emporium» is pushing it. It’s a smaller version of a typical American grocery store, with a limited selection (e.g. there are 50 types of cereal but no Cracklin Oat Bran). There are lots of signs everywhere shouting at employees not to do stuff; can’t be a fun place to work.

Manager stands around and stares at the long lines for check out. Overpriced and dirty store.

The worst customer service i have ever had, If u need to have a v bad service never visit that location

Have been living across from this supermarket for close to 20 years. It’s a sad sack of a market if there ever was one. The neighborhood has grown leaps and bounds and this place is stagnant. The produce is usually spoiled. The employees barely look up to engage. I’ve introduced myself dozens of times only to get blank stares back. It must be a tough biz with Whole Foods down the block and Fresh Direct trucks everywhere. But it would be awesome to at least feel like someone cared.

Wish your managers had training in etiquette, non-​verbal communication, and customer interaction. Whoever that was in the front playing manager needs to have whatever dead rodent that crawled up his hindquarters removed expeditiously. 8:05 — 8:18 pm

I stop by this grocery store on my way home from work when 1) I forget that Trader Joe’s exist or 2) I forget that I can afford to shop at Whole Foods every now and again in the absence of willpower to trek to Trader Joe’s.
I bought a box of mushrooms here that spoiled literally overnight. The prices are unreasonably high, the store seems understaffed, and the selection is underwhelming. Essentially, nothing about my shopping experience here has made the money running out of my wallet any less painful.
Most likely won’t ever come again.

Great grocery store that has what whole foods doesn’t and for a little cheaper. But I don’t recommend getting a deli sandwich made at the deli counter. They were out of a lot of things and was a little too pricey for a turkey sandwich — stick the the delis/​bodegas for sandwiches

Staff are pretty sluggish. The manager was nagging about something to one of their staff in front of the customers which was pretty embarrassing. I felt sorry for the staff.
However, since I needed some almond milk it was really good stocked.
Won’t come again.

I came to this supermarket to get vegetables for work because i was running out in the restaurant where i work. the supermarket was pretty big, had wide aisles that’s a plus you could see everything. The prices on all their stuff are outrageously expensive.
I don’t understand why so much people go here to buy things and feel like they got their moneys worth of things. I got so use to shopping in supermarkets around my area where everything is reasonably priced. There are sale in this supermarket but even with the sale its still expensive.
Staffs: the cashiers are nice and friendly sometimes, they should be smiling all the time not just sometimes. some of the staffs don’t know where things are. WARNING the Manager is rude as hell.
Overall i would stay away from this supermarket unless its your last option. i will not be returning to buy anything from this place.

They have most things that you need here considering the small space. It is not the cleanest, and the prices are comparable to Whole Foods which is a much nicer store. I shop at FE daily because I live above it (and that was one of the reasons I chose the apt-​love having a «pantry» below), but walk the 3 blocks to WF for most of what I need, esp. produce and meat.

Empty shelves, little service, no selection left. Should be shut down.

This is a normal supermarket in the upscale hood of tribeca. The prices though are very reasonable. I have stopped here couple of times to grab some quick grocery items.
They need some more staff on the floor. It becomes difficult to locate the store staff in case one has any questions.

I always pictured myself living in Tribeca and with it the ultimate question: where would I go food shopping?
Stopping by here to mostly warm up on an odd Thursday evening, I discovered that the place was very… lonely. I don’t know if it’s because there’s a Wholefoods a few blocks away that took away most of the business, or just the odd night. But I would certainly picture myself foodshopping there. I would also imagine myself having a better paying job to live or foodshop in Tribeca. A girl could always dream.

My grandma lives in the apartment building next door so it’s really great she has a supermarket that close by. I stop in here to bring her an essential she is out of or to grab a cookie for my tummy, etc. After some day drinking I dragged friends and bf here. My friends needed a dessert to bring to a Thanksgiving party. We were a bit tipsy so me and one friend picked out a BEAUTIFUL turkey cake. It was covered in about 2 lbs of frosting and even had the gobbler thing hanging down. I was enamored. They have a great bakery section and the cakes are only slightly overpriced. They also sell cookies in a case across from the actual bakery display. I know my way around this store well enough by now and I don’t think it is too confusing. Also, the store is fairly large, especially for a NYC location.
It gets 3 stars because there is nothing outstanding about the food selection or prices or the quality of service. But it is a-​okay in my book!

So as I was standing on my tippie-​toes trying to hang up a drawing a boy made for me (in case you’re wondering about the drawing, it was a garbage truck that had my name on it*) I thought about a few things:
a) How excited I am for one last cold day before the onset of summer
b) Kitchenette or Whole Foods today for chicken noodle soup
c) Throwing all caution to the wind and embracing my renegade lifestyle by trying something wild and crazy, aka going to the local grocery store
So I went into Food Emporium to make full use of the Buy One Get One Free coupon for Fiber One yogurt.** I felt instantly relaxed by the Nora Jones soundtrack playing overhead and the cleanliness walking up and down the aisles. I thought to myself: It’s true, it’s really true. Everything IS cleaner and nicer and more beautiful in Tribeca. Even the Food Emporiums! I picked up my yogurt and made my way to the cash register. I happily turned over my coupon and smiled to the grocery bagger/​boy*** who bagged my yogurts for me when the cashier informed me that my coupon actually covered yogurt priced up to $ 3.00 and here, at Food Emporium Tribeca, the yogurt is a bit more expensive so I would have to add the difference.
So everything is nicer in Tribeca, but pricier. And even that extends to the groceries at the local Food Emporium, apparently.
*Best gift I’ve ever received from a male so far in 2009
** Fiber is important. Have you had enough fiber today?
*** Maybe not the PC term

I have to review this Food Emporium in particular. They love my money, and I love their guts. Yes, they are gutsy – premium prices, lackluster service, poor store layout – they just don’t seem to care. I can’t wait for WFM and others to come eat their lunch.
Now here is a typical Food Emporium. Be warned – by the time you get there, they might have changed the configuration.
Enter Exit
| /​\
— — — — — -| — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — | — — — —
| | «Employee of the month» pics | |
| \/​| |
| Cashiers — angry ones |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Aisle |
| Ugly | $$$ | Pet | Stale | Stale | $$$ | being |
| stuff | items | food | soup | candy | items| stocked |
| | | | | | | |
| |
| Healthy stuff — way back here |
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -

Really this isn’t a review for the actual store, its more for
But since when you order groceries on-​line you actually pick the closest store to your address and they do the shopping for you, this is my store.
Because Freshdirect doesn’t deliver to my apartment, this place has been a life saver. I order groceries from here about once a month just to get my pantry staples, especially the heavy things, like flour, canned goods, bottles of seltzer and juice. The prices seem to be comparable to Freshdirect too. Other good things about ordering my groceries through here are that you can place an order the day of delivery, once your order is over $ 50 (which it always is) delivery is free, and the delivery guys are always really nice and carry my groceries up to my 5^th floor walk up!
One big problem though, that made me pick 3 instead of 5 stars, is that generally whenever I make an order, one or more of the items on the list is not available, but I don’t find that out until after my groceries arrive… This can cause big problems for me if I ordered certain ingredients to make some recipe… Its a huge hassle to have to go out and pick up the missing items.