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impacting New York’s real estate market
they don’t need to build out
space for aisles and diff erent
departments for customers to
peruse.
Manhattan landlords
were concerned at fi rst
about leasing space to
a brand-new company.
“Most New York
landlords are pretty
sophisticated,
and you always
have to weigh
risk with any
deal you’re looking
at,” he said. “Gorillas,
specifi cally, is very well
capitalized by strong,
strong VC backers. I
think that helped to give
landlords a lot of confi
dence in what these
guys were doing.”
Some grocery
stores are having
the opposite
experience, the
Brooklyn-based
store owner said. Finding a large and welcoming
space is “crazy hard to fi nd,” he
said, and the spaces are pricey.
“Landlords would rather cut up a large
space and charge more rent than
get an anchor tenant,” he said.
“Supermarkets are, margins are everything,
right? When you’re paying rent in
the millions, it makes a space look less
attractive and appealing.”
Th e fi nal entry in “Th e Race to Deliver”
will examine labor relations between the
companies behind the grocery delivery apps
and their workforce.
Race to Deliver
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
Green Ivy Organic off ers a large variety of produce, fresh fl owers, and grocery items.
JOKR’s micro-warehouse -or “dark store” – in the Financial District.
A
Buyk courier
delivers groceries
in the Village.
/WWW.QNS.COM
