Brace Yourselves, Upper East Side: Fairway is Opening in Two Weeks

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New Yorkers get pretty excited about their grocery stores, especially when we're talking about a Fairway. The Upper West Side store's hardy and loyal patrons never seem to be daunted by the labyrinthine interior and masses of shoppers using grocery carts as weapons, so it's no surprise that the Upper East Side is counting down the days until they get their own on July 20. DNA Info reports that the 25,000 square foot space that formerly housed a Barnes & Noble and Circuit City will soon be a grocery wonderland filled with "600 artisanal cheeses, bread made from scratch, custom-cut meats from its butcher shop and its exclusive imported barrel olive oils".

The opening is a pretty big deal—not just because this is the first Fairway to open in Manhattan in 16 years, but also because this locale is offering the upper crust nabe some special perks not available at the others. Fairway UES is launching the first "Fairway to Go" section, offering sandwiches, coffee, and baked goods to-go to Wall Street commuters, harried nannies and real housewives on-the-run.

Not everyone is pleased with the impending opening though. Some killjoy members of the East 86th Street Merchants and Residents Association are concerned that truck traffic and sidewalk overcrowding will affect their quality of life. Considering non-Fairway shoppers tend to cross Broadway to walk north past the bustling UWS location, it's kind of hard to blame some residents for worrying. Hopefully they've prepared themselves for anxious opening day patrons lining up Trader Joe's style, though. Or maybe that's just a West Side thing.
· Peek inside All Four Walls of Fairway's New Upper East Side Location [Racked NY]
· Chelsea Turns Out to Welcome Manhattan's Second Trader Joe's [Racked NY]
· Fairway to Open Upper East Side Market on July 20th [DNA Info]