![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-23-at-9.43.41-PM.png\")
<\/a>Why? They\u2019re probably shopping online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My family and I have lived on the Upper West Side for a few years now. We shopped at the grocery stores in our area and were unaware that Han\u2019s Deli was closing until we saw West Side Rag\u2019s article in April. We often passed by Han\u2019s and began to notice the signs: \u2018Buy one, get one free!\u2019 and \u2018Closing Soon!\u2019 plastered on the walls of the corner store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before spring was over, the store had been boarded up after more than 45 years in the neighborhood. It happened so suddenly. I returned from my summer travels, and on my way to the subway, I thought something was different. Upon second glance, I realized the dark green awning that was a hallmark of Han\u2019s Deli had been taken down. All remnants of the store were gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walking by the empty storefront has made me realize the ever-changing New York City landscape. The closing of small family-run stores stems from a myriad of reasons: chain stores, competition, higher rents or just not enough demand. My family was guilty of the online shopping factor. We subscribed to FreshDirect during the COVID-19 lockdown and kept our subscription after social distancing ended. This summer, though, we canceled it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re making an effort to shop locally and in person for our groceries. We live in a residential neighborhood, and the stores, mere blocks away, are catered to the community. We go regularly to West Side Market, Trader Joe\u2019s, Whole Foods, Millport Dairy and local farmers\u2019 markets. By shopping in person, we see what\u2019s in season and can pick out the freshest vegetables and fruits. I\u2019ve bumped into friends and even teachers on these visits. This has made me realize that shopping locally builds community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When COVID hit, opportunities that provided a \u201cconvenience factor\u201d were opened to the financially privileged. One could say that COVID spoiled us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before COVID, we would go to West Side Market (next to our dog\u2019s daycare) and, if possible, the Friday farmers\u2019 market. My family subscribed to FreshDirect so we could stay safe during the pandemic. This made shopping so easy that we used it even when others went back to shopping in person. Once we\u2013and many others\u2013discovered that we could get groceries delivered to our doorstep through the click of a button, that became the norm for many families, including ours. It\u2019s much less convenient to physically go outside and shop. If you forget something, you can\u2019t just press a button on your phone to add it to your order; you have to go back to the store, buy it, and carry it back yourself. That said, online shopping reduces the sense of community and support that shopping in person brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope not all family-run businesses like Han\u2019s will meet similar fates. And I think it\u2019s a wake-up call to neighbors about the dangers that online shopping can bring. I\u2019m not normally one to look at the comments of an article, but I looked through the 85 comments about the closing of Han\u2019s Deli. Nearly all the comments are from people who have been in the area for over 20 years. People commented on the West Side Rag article about the store\u2019s closing, exchanging stories of times when Han made them feel at home or provided community. Others recognize the dangers of online shopping and how it has shut down this unassuming deli that has been a part of NYC history for nearly half a century. A daily customer, Irena, remembered how, when she was looking for a cab, Han recognized her, stopped his car, and offered her a ride. Ellen has been shopping at Han\u2019s since the late \u201880s when they did not sell bagels. She described what bagels were to Han, and the next week, she came back and found bagels stocked in the grocery store. Anya\u2019s parents used to donate books to the Han children, and during COVID, Han\u2019s went out of their delivery zone to deliver to Anya\u2019s family. Han\u2019s was the reason Anya planned on retiring in the 90s\u2013so she could be close to this part of her community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People who have grown up with Han\u2019s Deli now know how important it is to support in-person businesses. Recently, I spotted a new food truck near Whole Foods\u2013the lines there seem to be longer every time I walk by. All of this makes me hopeful for change, to see people ready to prioritize keeping family-owned businesses open and to keep communities vibrant and busy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Joo Han, the second-generation owner of a family-owned grocery store, closed his store \u2013 Han\u2019s Family Market \u2013\u00a0 this past spring. Over the 30 years he was in charge of this \u201cmom and pop shop,\u201d he saw children grow up in front of his eyes while he helped build a strong community with the regulars. But business, Han reported, was the worst it\u2019s ever been, even worse than during COVID lockdowns. \u201cPeople\u2019s lives, the rhythm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":10495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[434,347,318,321],"tags":[],"coauthors":[656],"class_list":["post-10492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-community","category-news","category-opinion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-23-at-9.42.19-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10496,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10492\/revisions\/10496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10492"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=10492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}