Got a personal pre-opening tour of Stamford’s Fairway Market. Howie Glickberg (he’s the guy in the photo), grandson of the man who started the original store on Manhattan’s upper west side, showed me the enormous 85,000 square foot space — the largest of all the Fairways.
It’s not finished, but people were busy stacking shelves and checking equipment.
All I can say is — I’m impressed. I already have a shopping and lunch date with one of my friends, just to fill up on all our regular groceries plus great olive oil, hand-rolled bagels, fresh fish for dinner, gluten-free almost everything you can think of, an enormous selection of produce and all the Thanksgiving products you need, either regular or organic.
But then there’s the Cafe. A place to get lunch and sit in the glassed-in atrium and have some social time. My first thought about the Cafe was that it reminded me of the cocktail hour at a wedding or bar mitzvah. Honestly, there’s going to be a carving station with things like prime rib and kobe beef, salmon and pastrami, a “wokery” and pasta station where you get to pick your personal stirfry ingredients or pasta additions and a chef will cook up your food right then and there, a salad station (of course), soup station, pizza (from a brick oven), sandwiches and paninis, and sushi. There will also be a chef cooking fresh burgers, hot dogs and Philly cheesesteaks (fries with that!). And the snack and dessert stations: smoothies, gelato. A barista bar with different coffees and pastries.
Can I spend the whole day? Hmmm. Forgot to ask about wireless internet service. Have to make a quick phone call…..