Image source: Wikipedia Commons.
While the current artisinal, locavore food craze has businesses everywhere attempting to cash in on the name Brooklyn, Foodtown [9105-27 3rd Avenue] proves itself an old hand at putting aside shelf space for products made in the County of Kings, according to Simone Weichselbaum in a cruelty-free, locally-sourced article for the Daily News.
The grocery store has been stocking locally-made products for decades – In the case of one Brooklyn business profiled, De An’s Pork Products [899 4th Ave], since at least 1990.
“It is not easy to get your products into large chains, but we have to give people the benefit of the doubt and help them,” Foodtown chain co-owner Noah Katz told the News. “We don’t say no to any local vendor. We put them on the shelf and let the customer decide.”
A diverse array of local food producers, from Abu’s Homestyle Bakery – a black Muslim bakery on Fulton Street, to an Italian sausage maker in Sunset Park, can sometimes give the local supermarket – which is part of a chain, more the feel of a conglomeration of neighborhood specialty stores.
And while local businesses are facing a challenging environment in this still-sluggish economy, Weichselbaum’s piece makes note that, thanks to Brooklyn’s good name, some are far from struggling.
“Being from Brooklyn is helping us from a national scale,” said Michael Cacace, 32, whose grandfather founded Michael’s Restaurant in Marine Park. “Everyone wants to be a part of it. People take pride in products made where they are from.”