Delicacies still with us?

Is this the place with the ice cheese case in the back and coffee...?
If so, as much as I like (or liked) them, but I always found their store to be a bit...empty. What they did have was pretty good (a little pricier) but I would never stop there specifically FOR anything. If I happened to go by I would stop in sometimes and support the local business by buying something anyway.

I'm not sure if this is the same place though...

On the other hand, the place on Union and 7th St. in park slope always has a wide variety of deli items and other things, so I actually go out of my way to go there instead.

I don't live close to either place, but if I have to make a special trip for a pricier "deli"/ bakery item, I'd go to the Park Slope one instead....They always have fresh baguettes and French marshmallows!!

I just think Vanderbilt isn't ready for certain businesses. But yeah, their stock was never so great anyway.

aren't they on vacay? I thought the notice in their window said they'd reopen at some point in late january ...

jgregorie wrote: delicacies was allmost allways understocked. its a shame because if they had a wider selection of items i would shop there all the time.

i wish a place like union market would open up on vandy, i would be there everday.

it actually seems as if vanderbilt has taken a step backwards.
i dont understand it, Joyce's is packed allmost all the time.

I would like to point out that anything new that opens on Vanderbilt, or even in the hood, gets brutalized and mercilessly complained about on this board. How many people actually reading this shop locally on a regular basis?

If I had read this forum before opening my shop {actually it didn't exist yet}, I would be having deep misgivings about opening in PH based on the meanness and hardcore nitpicking routinely exhibited.

Think about it: if a store is not stocked to your liking, buying what you do like in the meantime gives the owner leeway to bring in more goods. Recommending someplace in Park Slope instead won't bring in more goods to Prospect Heights.

When I first moved to Brooklyn, I lived in PS, and we used to complain about the same thing, no fancy food options. Now look at it.

I believe the owners of Delicacies had an opportunity elsewhere, decided to take it, and new owners will be re-opening in some form shortly. At least that's what I heard.

If you want more great shops here, please support what's already here!

Thank you!

kay, agreed. Support local businesses and buy.
BUT, t the same time, I can't shop at a place that doesn't have the things I need or want...

Some busineses are in "business" mainly becuase for decades, they have had NO competition (the hardware store on Washington, for example) and the existing population gave them a "pass"...what else were they going to do - shop somewhere else?There is nothing else close by...so F. U.

Using the hardware store as an example, when I renovated my apartment they never had ANYTHING and had no intention of geting anything I requetested either - why should they go out of thier way...?
They would also close so early, I could never get the stuff I needed after work.

I now go to Pintchik on Flatbush and Lowes by the BQE almost exclusively because of the available stock, hours, return policies, clealry marked ( or confirmable) prices, and lack of B.S. Neither is perfect, but my CHANCES of getting what I need go up. A Critical factor in shopping by foot in the city...

I work pretty hard for what little I have and want to spend my money in a place that also appreciates me as a customer and understands my needs to. If they dont, I vote with my feet. I think it is important for shop owners to also understand changinf demographics and the customer. You can open any kind of shop you want but how do you get people to keep coming back - if you care. Some places have forgotten - or never had to know- how to run a business with true competition. It really is hard, no doubt, and that is why so many go under in NYC.

But seriously, some places need to get a CLUE (not necessarily Delicacies, and I did like them - still do) and some businesses don't even TRY.
When given a choice, I will go to the cleaner, nicer place that has the stuff I want, even if it is out of the way and a little pricier... I dont have time to uderstand the nuances of a clerk/ shop owner's attitude, or why certain basic items are never in stock or why no one acknowledges me when I am standing right in front of them for 5 minutes - I just need to get some stuff and be on my way.

The new demographics of the area are bringing a different attitiude and expectation - for better or for worse - and the plexi-glassed in Chinese/Ice cream joints, et al, while they still will be around for some time - thankfully, MIGHT have to step up their "game" a little...or they can choose to stay as they are - its their choice.

But that's business.
And it's hard in NYC - for everyone.

I agree with SevenOneEighty. The main things I look for in a store are price and quality of service. If that requires going outside the neighborhood, I'll gladly do so. I found the prices at Delicacies to be too high, so I continued to shop at Sahadis. Likewise, I rarely go to Soda because the service is so slow and incompetent. On the other hand, I support Beast, Sepia, Gen, Tavern on Dean, Caree cleaners, my laundry place, etc. because they provide what I want/need at a fair price and in a professional manner.

Jack Krohn wrote: I agree with SevenOneEighty. The main things I look for in a store are price and quality of service. If that requires going outside the neighborhood, I'll gladly do so. I found the prices at Delicacies to be too high, so I continued to shop at Sahadis. Likewise, I rarely go to Soda because the service is so slow and incompetent. On the other hand, I support Beast, Sepia, Gen, Tavern on Dean, Caree cleaners, my laundry place, etc. because they provide what I want/need at a fair price and in a professional manner.

I don't mind paying a little extra to get something in the neighborhood and support a local business, especially since I don't have a car. I think the main thing that limited how much I went to Delicacies was how little they carried. They had a huge space but barely had any inventory. I know it's tough to do with the more expensive items they carried, and would require a ton of start-up capital, but if you're going to have that kind of store, you need to carry a lot o different items. I hope that if the place re-opens they're able to expand their inventory. If they're not currently able to, maybe that means they need another partner in the business?

putz wrote: this board serves not only as a medium for us to share our complaints, but for the local businesses to hear what they are! any local retailer should feel absolutely blessed to discover discussion about them on this site!! where else can they learn so directly what they need to do to improve and meet their customers needs?? half and delicacies might still be alive if they read, and resonded to the messages here. if i were a local business owner, i would be here openly soliciting criticism!!

So true. Businesses pay big money for market research using ineffective surveys with low response rates, yet local businesses can get exactly the kind of info those businesses are paying top dollar for for free on this site.

If I had read this forum before opening my shop {actually it didn't exist yet}, I would be having deep misgivings about opening in PH based on the meanness and hardcore nitpicking routinely exhibited.

Its what defines us (in addition to the speed at which we race bait)! I am a proud, nitpicking, (white), resident of Prospect Heights. Its not my problem if people that are different than me think I'm mean!

For the record I like Delacacies just the way they are. What would you possibly add - except more variety of the same. And if you're not buying what they already got, why should they add 30 additional, artisinal varieties of it?

I never heard of them. Hipster joints I imagine?

Give me free brewski and I say "Suuuuuuuuuuure! Why not?!"

Duke of Flatbush wrote: For the record I like Delacacies just the way they are. What would you possibly add - except more variety of the same. And if you're not buying what they already got, why should they add 30 additional, artisinal varieties of it?

I totally disagree. It's not like they're selling staples like eggs, milk and flour. Even for loyal customers, how many jars of tapenade is someone really going to buy in a year? Apart from a few items like coffee, bread, cheese, crackers and a few deli meats, most of their stuff is like that, and they don't have a big enough selection of the cheeses and meats to make the place a destination for those things alone. You've got to have a lot more and different items to keep people interesting and buying. They have so much space! They should fill it up with stuff people want. They would even have room to put a double row of shelves down the middle of the store, making two aisles and doubling their shelf space. What about a section for Asian foods? How about carrying salt-packed anchovies and capers? They could sell smoked salmon and other smoked fish. Maybe a better selection of breads (Blue Apron carries Sullivan St, Amy's, and more). How about a beverage section with difficult-to-find stuff: sodas like Chinotto, Rieme Limonade Artisonale, or Manhattan Special espresso soda (bottled in Brooklyn, by the way)? The profit margin on soft drinks is huge. These are just a few ideas.

I love Delicacies, I think the people there are great and I want them to succeed and to have a place like this in my neighborhood. But it's so frustrating that every time I go, they seem to have less stuff. I understand that it's really expensive to have a large inventory of high-end items, but you've got to have an appearance of bounty for a place like this to do well. They should look to places like the Blue Apron on Union and Bierkraft for how to do the local gourmet food shop profitably. I believe that a place like that can make it on Vanderbilt, but you have to offer enough to keep people coming back.

alafairnadia wrote: what's the name of that super fancy two first name store on the upper east side?

Agata and Valentina?
Dean and Deluca?

I'm not sure which you mean... I guess either would be an appropriate example.

I totally love Agata and Valentina. It's one of the few things I miss from my old neighborhood (the others being Schaller and Weber and the Yorkville Packing House).

The time or two I've stopped in at Delicacies I've left either emptyhanded or with only one or two things; there also haven't been many -- if any -- other people in the store when I've been in there. I feel bad for the owners because of that; they seem like awfully nice people. It makes me wonder if maybe they have such a sparse amount of stock because they're not doing enough business.

I *try* to support local businesses as much as I can, but I also sort of scrape by month-to-month on a nonprofit salary, and they just don't have much stuff. Which is a shame, because little gourmet items are great little treats for yourself or others, and it's a great way to splurge on yourself just a little without breaking the bank. I would LOVE to be able to pick up some antipasti or smoked fish.

Let's not forget Met Foods in the possible demise of Delicacies. Once Delicacies opened the Met put in a large display case full of cheese. Not the same quality of course, but enough to skim off some business I am sure. I think a store like D. is also hurt by places like Fairway - inconvenient but some people will make the trip there and again business is lost.
I agree with some of the posters that you have to be very flexible in responding to the demand of your potential customers. I think good prepared food would go over very well on Vanderbilt, there are so many people who work and not many places to purchase it.
In any case, I hope they are still in business and that we see the store open again. They are a welcome addition to Vanderbilt avenue