Months After Hurricane Sandy, Fairway Market in Red Hook to Reopen

Four months after being severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy, Fairway Market in Red Hook, Brooklyn is reopening on Friday, March 1st with a ceremony featuring Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Makowitz.

Fairway Market’s Red Hook store first opened in 2006 on the Brooklyn waterfront and quickly became a critical anchor for the entire Red Hook neighborhood. Serving as a retail magnet, the store drew tens of thousands of shoppers a week into the area via Van Brunt Street, the neighborhood’s main commercial thoroughfare. Having the store closed resulted in a loss of numerous customers to many businesses in the area including restaurants, bars, vintage shops and bodegas.

“Fairway’s impact on the community cannot be overstated; as we have learned in the past few months, it is profound. As a chef, I am personally delighted, and cannot wait to start shopping again, as a business owner and community organizer, I am thrilled for the customers Fairway will bring to us all, supporting the entire local economy,” said Monica Byrne, Co-founder and Advisory Board member of ReStore Red Hook and chef of Home/Made Wine Bar.

“Since Hurricane Sandy, Fairway’s absence in Red Hook left Brooklynites with an emptiness in their daily routines–and their refrigerators. I can personally attest that no week was quite the same without my wife and I taking our ritual trip to Fairway,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Fairway Market is more than just a store; it is the quintessential grocery experience with something for everyone.”

As part of a continuing effort to help the community, Fairway Market is teaming with ReStore Red Hook. Customers are being asked to donate to www.restoreredhook.org, which goes straight to small businesses damaged by Sandy, and then Fairway Market will match all contributions up to $20,000.

Source: Fairway Market