Sure you’ve been grocery shopping, but we doubt you’ve ever been grocery shopping like this!
That’s because this fun new grocery store puts the experience first, putting emphasis on lesser-known emerging brands and placing all those products at eye-level rather than all the big name brands, and they recently opened their first permanent brick and mortar location in NYC!
Pop Up Grocer has been shaking up the industry since 2019 when they opened up their first shop made specifically for curious, conscious shoppers.
And this new location isn’t any different!
The 1,500 square-foot retail concept features 130 emerging brands across the areas of food, beverage, home, beauty, and pets, selling new, better-for-you products–essentially all the hottest and most exciting new items from independent companies. The best part is that they emphasize sourcing brands with under-resourced and underrepresented founders.
“We can be, at once, a one-time and a routine destination for discovery,” says Schildt, who adds that visitors can pop in for a look at what’s new and to feel inspired, much like they would touring a museum. “While neighbors can rely on us with regularity for a complementary grocery haul—our assortment includes everything from milk and cereal to olive oil and spices. So, success for us looks like achieving that—widening our reach and our impact.”
Featured brands such as Fly By Jing, Ghia, OffLimits, Rowdy Mermaid, Siesta, SideDish, and Whipnotic, rotate on a quarterly basis, though a selection of core items will remain constant.
A cafe with Chamberlain Coffee, the leading coffee lifestyle brand and brainchild of Emma Chamberlain, can also be found inside so you can grab a coffee to keep those energy levels high while grocery shopping.
The cafe will offer seating as well as an assortment of baked goods in partnership with Librae, the first-ever Bahraini female-owned bakery in NY. Over time, emerging bakers and pastry chefs will also rotate into the store.
Additionally, the location serves as a space for programming like community-led panels, tastings, and classes.
30,000 products launch each year, and if any of those products are new and interesting, are made responsibly, and look good, you can find them at Pop Up Grocer.
“Given our unique model as an advertiser-first retailer and grocery store, it only made sense for our first location to be in NY, and specifically in Manhattan, at the center of influence,“ says Founder & CEO Emily Schildt. “Having now opened nine 30-day locations across the country, we know a lot about the types of items that our audience is attracted to, which will influence our assortment.”
Pop Up Grocer is located at 205 Bleecker Street and is open daily 8a.m. – 8p.m. You can learn more on their website here.