Perfectly timed to the recent anti-High Line screed in the Times, we have this sad news: the last meat purveyor in the Meatpacking District (outside of the city-owned cooperative market) is giving up the ghost and joining its peers. And with that, another remnant of Manhattan's industrial past disappears.
The Real Deal reports that Weichsel Beef, which has been operating for 45 years at 525 West Street, is moving about a block away to 7,000-square-feet in 826 Washington Street's Gansevoort Market co-op. The landlord of its longtime home, TF Cornerstone, is apparently looking to turn the space next to the upcoming Whitney Museum into an 8,340-square-foot retail space. Y'know, for rich kids.
The news shouldn't really shock anyone—the Meatpacking District's longtime meat and flesh trades have both been fading fast as the area gentrifies into a trendy shopping and clubbing district—but it doesn't make it any sadder. As the area gets more and more upscale basic businesses like Weichsel just aren't as attractive to real estate owners as fancy shops and restaurants. Nor are they as attractive to the throngs of tourists.
But at least the meatpacking industry isn't likely to leave the area entirely anytime soon. Though the number of meat wholesalers there has dropped dramatically since its peak of about 200 a few decades ago the Gansevoort Market still houses nine such businesses—and hopefully will for some time. And yet? We'll totally be pouring out a little juice from our burgers this weekend out of respect.
