Oldest Cheese Store Closes in Little Italy

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From the NY Post:

This 130-year-old business’s Manhattan storefront is parma-gone and mozzarel-ocating to the Garden State. 

Alleva Dairy’s longtime 188 Grand St. home may be gor-gone-zola, but the over-one-century-old Italian grocer isn’t letting the grate become the enemy of the good. Instead of throwing in the cheesecloth, they’re up and moving to New Jersey. 

“After serious consideration, Alleva Dairy at 188 Grand Street will close on Wednesday, March 1 at 6 P.M.,” said owner Karen King, who bought the fromage factory with her late husband John “Cha Cha” Ciarcia — a friend of Tony Danza and descendent of Alleva’s founding family — in 2014. “I am so thankful for the support I have received from my devoted customers, neighbors, the news media and strangers from across the country.” 

Alleva Dairy.
The closure follows a court battle over the more than $500,000 worth of back rent owned to the building’s landlord.
Alleva Dairy
Alleva Dairy’s longtime 188 Grand St. home will be moving to New Jersey.

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alleva dairy moves to jersey
Karen King in a truck with Alleva’s signs.

Nothing gouda can stay in New York, it seems, as Alleva — which opened in 1892 and is billed as the nation’s oldest cheese store — is now banking on doing feta beyond the boroughs.

“Thanks to the vision, generosity and commitment of businessman and developer, Jack Morris, President and CEO, of Edgewood Properties, Alleva Dairy will be opening a 3,700-square-foot store at 9 Polito Ave. in Lyndhurst, NJ,” King continued, adding that “One thing is certain, Alleva Dairy will continue and will be bigger and better than before.”

New McDonald’s Opening in Times Square

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McDonald’s has signed a lease at the former Duane Reade location on the northwest corner of West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue at 681 Eight Avenue. The store is currently being built out. This new location is across the street from the Five Below and Target stores on West 4McDonald’s Moves into Former Duane Reade at W. 42nd and Eighth Avenue.

Cannabis Stores Opening All Over Manhattan

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Walking the streets throughout Manhattan you’ll see new convenience stores, smoke shops and stores that sell only cannabis-related products opening everywhere. These businesses are thriving at least for the time being. The stores are typically under 1,000 square feet and they usually open one store on a block but there are blocks that have more than one store – in some cases on the same side of the street. “Smoke and Vape” has been open on 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen for years but this past week, “The Forbidden Cannabis” has opened a few doors north on the same block. Many stores sell soda, juices, pipes, etc. in addition to cannabis. The new store that opened last month on West 42nd Street and 9th Avenue, “The Green Light District” sells only different forms of cannabis and CBD.

The future of these new stores will ultimately be in the hands of the New York State Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) which was signed into law on March 31, 2021 legalizing adult-use cannabis (also known as marijuana, or recreational marijuana). The legislation created a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) governed by a Cannabis Control Board to comprehensively regulate adult-use, medical, and hemp cannabis. The OCM will issue licenses and develop regulations outlining how and when business can participate in the new industry.

According to OCM, there will be 22 new licenses granted in Manhattan. A breakdown of the number of conditional adult-use retail dispensaries (CAURD) indicates that up 150 licenses will be award across 14 regions of the state, with most licenses in New York City and Long Island.

OCM states that the primary goal of the CAURD license is to create opportunities for New Yorkers harmed most by the prohibition of cannabis by granting up to 150 CAURD licenses to individuals who themselves, or their close family members, have had past eligible cannabis-related offenses and have ownership stakes in profitable businesses.

The New York Post reported that OCM spokesperson Aaron Ghitelman said that the newly opened unlicensed dispensaries “are illegal as there are no licensed adult-use cannabis sales at this time in the State of New York and we will work with our partners to enforce the law.”  OCM has sent out more than 50 cease-and-desist letters, which warn shops that “any unlicensed sale of cannabis is illegal” and that “failure to cease this activity puts your ability to obtain a license in the legal cannabis market at substantial risk.”

It will be interesting to see how the city and state regulates the selling of cannabis products over the next several months.