A farewell to my favorite retail store, after-the-jump ….
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Nothing lasts forever, I know … and in the current retailpocalypse, the velocity of change is even more. Still, when I went down to visit family/friends over the Thanksgiving weekend, there was yet-another loss in my annual pre-holiday shopping plans. Last year, it was the loss of the flagship Lord & Taylor store on 5th Avenue — besides being the one luxury department store my family would use, their holiday store windows were always my favorite, with mechanical figurines portraying the 1890’s. And now this year, my favorite specialty food shop, Dean & DeLuca— which I had been a (small-time) customer of for over thirty years.
For many New Yorkers (or ex-pats) it was the closing of the Greenwich Village store Balducci’s in 2003 that was traumatic (the firm exists in other regions today, but not in its flagship location). This was a market (founded in 1946) that was expanded to be the first in NYC to have a butcher, fishmonger, delicatessen and greengrocer all in the same store. Hence, a store for locals.
Dean & DeLuca had these departments later — and, they had a large kitchenware section as well — but their claim-to-fame (in my view) were their specialty spices, condiments, imported coffees, baked goods, cookbooks and so on. Plus, their flagship store design that (only later) did I notice. I have not determined a definitive tale yet of their demise, yet any farewell of mine deserves an explanation. While they later expanded to other US locations, I hope you’ll indulge my somewhat parochial favorite store — indeed, you may have (or had) a similar store you are passionate about (and please feel free to mention it in the comments section).
The store was founded in 1977 by Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca in a modest-sized store on Prince Street, in the Soho section of Manhattan.
Joel Dean was born in 1930 in a small town 45 miles northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio and grew up in a small town 25 miles south of Ann Arbor, Michigan. A graduate of Michigan State, he came to study English at Columbia University in NYC and never left. After college, he worked at Domino Sugar and later as a manager at Simon & Schuster, living on West 12th Street in Greenwich Village.
Someone else living on that street was Giorgio DeLuca— born in Queens, New York in 1944 and began his career as a NYC schoolteacher of history … yet quitting after only a few months. Emulating his immigrant father (who owned a small grocery store that had imported foods) he opened a cheese shop on Prince Street in 1973 that also sold books. Working for a book publisher, Joel Dean used to come in talking about the books … but the two found themselves talking more about food and ... “complaining about other people’s cooking”.
Eventually Joel Dean planned to open up his own kitchenware/book shop across the street from the cheese shop … when the two decided to combine their talents, and Dean & DeLuca was born in 1977 … actually, with the help of a third person.
Jack Ceglic is an artist and designer (as well as being Joel Dean’s life partner for the last forty-six years of his life) who helped design the new store … and (even more importantly) the one to follow. He joked that with the name Dean & DeLuca, “I was known as the ampersand— somebody could complain to Mr. Dean or Mr. DeLuca …. but nobody would bother me.”
Opening at a time when the Soho section became an artist’s retreat, the store became an instant success. It became among the first shops to offer sundried tomatoes, imported balsamic vinegars and other (now ubiquitous) items and became a favorite of celebrities. And if you could not make it to NYC? Critically, in 1981 they got into the mail-order business because the artist Donald Judd wanted his favorite items shipped to his home in Marfa, Texas. While I receive fewer catalogues (even at this time of year) today than I did ten years ago ….. specialty food catalogues were a novelty back then … again, ahead-of-their-time.
Just as important: in much the same way that entertainers being able to appear on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show could alter their careers: so could purveyors of artisanal foods, pastries and importers could find their business booming if only they could get on the store’s shelves.
Accounts describe them as a study in contrasts: Joel Dean was a “reserved, almost courtly” figure, compared to his ‘more flamboyant’ business partner. And I can certainly attest to the latter: sometime in the mid-80’s I went into the shop to look for gifts and recognized Giorgio DeLuca (from his photo) standing near me. “Hello, Giorgio!” I said — and without a word, he gave quite a pat-on-the-back.
In 1988, the company moved its flagship store a few blocks away to Broadway at Prince Street which (at 10,000 square feet) was five times the size of the original site. The move was necessary in order to accommodate a fresh fish and meat department they needed more space for.
And now, despite the size increase, its increased visibility made it a popular destination, often just as crowded. And it was Ceglic’s spare design that helped make it iconic: the classical music played, the butcher block counters and the stainless steel and chrome wire racks carrying jars, bottles and canned delicacies.
I was a customer, yet after relocating to New England in 1987: was not going to be buying fresh fish/meats (nor would I have been able to afford making that my primary shopping destination). Rather, it was buying whole wheat croissants and gifts for family/friends of coffee … and especially their spice tins.
Over the years, the store was name-dropped in popular culture: on TV shows such as Will & Grace and Felicity, and prominently in the film The Devil Wears Prada.
Their 1992 sales were estimated at $20 million— from the flagship store and some small espresso bars around Manhattan — when Dean & DeLuca soon thereafter sold their business to a private investor… which was the beginning of the end. From two foodies to investors … often spells trouble.
Dean & DeLuca was not harmed as much as was the mail-order fruit purveyors from Oregon, Harry & David— with 60% of its sales taking place from Thanksgiving to New Year’s — which left family control from 1984-2004 yet managed to stay healthy until a 2004 sale to investors who loaded-up the company with debt eventually forced the firm into bankruptcy (from which it has risen, yet not what it was). D&D did not go that far down that particular path.
Instead, the succession of owners did manage to pull-off two usual blunders: (1) Over-expansion, opening branch locations across the country, and (2) overcompensated executives.
That made them vulnerable to (3) new competition. The rise of Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Amazon (and smaller, regional specialty markets) has meant fierce competition. Add to that the rise of food halls (Eataly in NYC, Ponce City Market in Atlanta and the expanded Grand Central Market in Los Angeles) has brought prepared and ready-to-eat specialty foods to more people.
A noted foodee/reviewer named Heather Howard had an August essay for Slate in which she excoriated the latest owners (Pace Development of Thailand) for hitting the accelerator on expansion world-wide. She was employed (as a copywriter) for ten months in 2017 before being laid-off … and describes in fascinating detail how a dream job turned into a disaster. First was a staff move into luxurious headquarters on Park Avenue, then a new president was hired not from a food company but instead … the house of Ralph Lauren, then sponsorships of the US Tennis Association and also the PGA golf tour (?) She confirmed to me (on Twitter) that problems existed with previous owners, yet it was last ownership team that had been most egregious.
The result? Many of those small food vendors (who fought to get on their shelves) found themselves shutting-off credit when they were not being paid, then many employees were let go, then the company was forced to close nearly all of its locations (save for two locations in Honolulu still listed as open, yet for how long?).
Had this consolidation taken place years ago (along with the wasteful executive expenses and sponsorships) the flagship NYC store might have survived — having a prosperous Manhattan clientele plus many tourists — and indeed, it was listed as “closed for renovations”, with a proposed November 4th re-opening. Alas, it too, went on the auction block then … and it just didn’t seem like Thanksgiving weekend without my getting out at the Prince Street stop on the “R” subway line to visit there. The art community of Soho took time out to lament the loss of its old hangout.
Mind you, there are (as noted) many substitutes available. Penzey’s Spices provide a wonderful selection (along with its liberal causes) and I did visit the fabled Upper West Side food emporium Zabar’s— quite cramped, and I half expected Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld to burst in the room at any moment. (I suppose I’ll manage).
Joel Dean died in May, 2004 at the age of seventy-three, survived by his partner Jack Ceglic. Always known as the one who set high standards, he refused to carry garlic pressers … because he believed it was better to chop garlic by hand.
At age seventy-five, Giorgio DeLuca is still active, with his own Soho restaurant.
Let’s close with the George Harrison song from the White Album, Savoy Truffle — which sounds like the name of a delicacy that Dean & DeLuca would have sold.
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