Balducci's Leaves New York, Devastating Loyal Customers

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The final two Balducci's locations in Manhattan closed on Sunday after a heart-wrenching week of discounts, with customers reportedly bursting into tears and even yelling at the staff. One employee tells the Times, "The customers kept asking, 'Where are we going for lunch?' But what I want to know is, where are we going for jobs?" See, that's not Chelsea Pepper's problem; the 24-year-old customer was so totally distraught to find the Chelsea location picked clean on Sunday: "It’s saddest thing ever!" Others like Barbara Colasanti think the expensive gourmet chain—started by Italian immigrant Louis Balducci in 1946—only has itself to blame: "They priced themselves out of the market, it was hubris... Do you really need chipotle raspberry finishing sauce? What is finishing sauce? People don’t need all this stuff. It’s a lesson." It's unclear what fate awaits the spaces formerly occupied by Balducci's, but the Voice reports that stores in other locations have been sold to an investor group, and D.C.'s lone Balducci's will close at the end of June.

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By John Del Signore in Food on April 27, 2009 11:07 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

All their customers died in Palm Beach 3 years ago.

keera

I could count on one hand the times I've eaten at or bought anything from a Balducci's. And I've lived in NYC over 20 years.

JMH

Uh, yeah, it's Manhattan, there are other places to go for lunch. Idiot.

JMH

Uh, yeah, it's Manhattan, there are other places to go for lunch. Idiot.

shovel

To be fair, the lunchtime sandwiches were priced at or slightly below the neighborhood average. A Gourmet Garage would be interesting, but they too haven't been very impressive with their prices in recent years.

Think2wice

...yelling at the staff...

"I want it ALL, I want it NOW, and I want YOU to get it for me!!" said the cunty bitch as she slapped the ethnic stockboy across the face.

Stay classy Manhattan.

RevWaldo

Choke to death on your damn designer bagel from Balducci's.

Low cholesterol, naturally.

- Brooklyn Funk Essentials, "I Got Cash"

EricGewiz

During the last week it was open, employees at the uptown location were saying that Gourmet Garage was coming in next.

samarks

Balducci's was never the same since they left family ownership. The Eighth Avenue store had nothing in common with Balducci's except the name. The real end was years ago.

If you have trouble finding something to eat in NYC, you need more help than a gourmet store can offer.

Neil Epstein

I agree with this.

JacqueMehoff

I don't know if they were family owned in 1983 but

a friend worked at their pastry/dessert counter.

before a ride up to CP he would give us a few items gratis.

my only experience with balducci's.

nyorker555

re Peter -- because all the food non-white folks like is automatically amazing and desireable huh? Sarcasm is not wit.

tmz is evil

re Peter -- because all the food non-white folks like is automatically amazing and desireable huh? Sarcasm is not wit.

Oh, look, everyone... A geek who doesn't get a reference to a popular blog (Stuff White People Like) is getting his panties in a bunch.

keera

Popular? With whom, exactly?

Chico B

It's true. It's like the Holocaust plus the Rwandan genocide times the last episode of "Six Feet Under." It's, like, Sad Von Sad.

It sucks that Balducci's is closing/leaving, but I can't say I've been inside one in years, and these things happen. When the economy gets even just this much better,

this gap will be filled by someone. I'm sure places like Delmonico's and Gourmet Garage are going to pick up some of the slack.