The Manhattan storefront of this 130-year-old business is Parma-gone and mozzarella-oating toward the Garden State.
The longtime 188 Grand St. home of Alleva Dairy may be gor-gon-zola, but the more than century-old Italian grocer isn’t letting the great be the enemy of the good. Instead of throwing in the cheesecloth, they’re up and moving to New Jersey.
“After serious consideration, Alleva Dairy at 188 Grand Street will be closing at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1,” said owner Karen King, who purchased the frazz factory with her late husband. John “Cha Cha” Searcia — Tony Danza’s friend and descendant of Aleva’s founding family — in 2014. “I’m so grateful for the support I’ve received from our dedicated customers, neighbors, the news media and strangers across the country.”
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Gouda can’t stand anything in New York, it seems, as Alleva — which opened in 1892 and is known as the nation’s oldest cheese store — is now banking on feta out of the borough.
King added, “Thanks to the vision, generosity and commitment of Jack Morris, president and CEO of Edgewood Properties, businessman and developer, Eleva Dairy will open a 3,700-square-foot store at 9 Polito Avenue in Lyndhurst, NJ. , adding that “one thing is for sure, Aleva Dairy will continue and be bigger and better than ever.”
For those who miss the iconic green and red sign, don’t despair! They will rise again in the place of Jersey. The rest of the fixtures, counters and machinery have also been “carefully loaded and moved into storage,” according to a press release.
The closure follows a court battle over more than $500,000 worth of cured meat, rice balls and sub-slinging landmarks the landlord accused of failing to pay during the Covid-19 pandemic. . (The Little Italy shop was leased for $23,756 a month in rent.)
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Landlord Jerome G. Stabile III Realty sued Soppresta-Slinger in Manhattan Supreme Court in April, seeking “permission to evict you from the subject premises if you do not pay the money judgment.” Subsequent negotiations, including a proposal to immediately put up $250,000 and pay over the term of the lease, failed — and in September, Alleva filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Despite the poor state of Well-Y, the ricotta outpost stayed open until the bitter end. The final customer at its New York address was a family from Montreal. They bought cannoli.
