Gourmet Garage proposal draws debate over supermarket bar and full liquor plan

Gourmet Garage’s application for an on‑premises full liquor license at 585 Hudson St. drew prolonged questions from Community Board 2’s Liquor License Committee about how the supermarket would sell and serve alcohol and whether the proposal fits the West Village neighborhood.

The applicant, represented by attorney Max Bookman, said the owner is Village Supermarkets, which operates ShopRite and Gourmet Garage stores in the region and has recently acquired four Fairway locations in New York City. Max Bookman said the proposed store would be a two‑level supermarket with grocery sales primarily on the lower level and an upper‑level “on‑premises” food area with about five tables and roughly 30 seats, plus a 11–13 foot bar counter. “It’s a concept that they have previously done,” Bookman said of Village’s locations outside the city. He called the liquor component a small part of overall sales: Frank, an officer with the applicant, said liquor accounted for “exactly 1/2 of 1%” of the total store sales in a comparable Morristown location.

Why it matters: committee members pressed for operational details they said affect neighborhood impacts — where seating will be located, how drinks are ordered and delivered, how minors will be prevented from receiving alcohol, whether patrons will linger during the Abingdon Square farmers market, and how the supermarket will compete with nearby restaurants.

Details and committee questions - Service model: the applicants described two ordering paths: customers could order at the bar or order via table iPads/kiosks; drinks would be delivered to tables by staff. Applicant Tom described systems used in Morristown and Stroudsburg where the iPad requires a scannable ID and credit‑card payment, and staff validate orders and deliver drinks. - Staffing and monitoring: the applicants said the upstairs food/drink area would be staffed by up to two bartenders at any one time and a server who tends tables; the full upstairs food operation could have “roughly 15” staff on duty during busy periods. The applicant said bartenders are TIPs‑trained and the establishments use additional in‑house security training. - Seating and floor plan: committee members repeatedly asked for an accurate, legible floor plan. Applicants described five tables between two street entrances, counters with stools along windows and a kitchen at the back right of the upper level. The application contained different seat counts in different documents; the applicants told the committee they counted about 37 seats for the upstairs area and acknowledged the SLA paperwork had varying numbers. The committee requested a clear diagram to be used in any stipulation. - Underage sales and iPad checks: applicants said the iPad system scans IDs and requires each liquor purchase to be completed separately on the credit card (one card, one drink), a measure they said prevents patrons from ordering multiple alcoholic drinks for others without re‑validation. - Neighborhood impact: several members — citing the Abingdon Square farmers market, nearby brunch demand and a dense cluster of restaurants — said they feared a full liquor on‑premises supermarket could draw brunch or sidewalk traffic away from existing restaurants. Others noted the grocery’s proponents view the on‑premises offering as an amenity that helps the supermarket compete with online grocery delivery services.

Committee direction and outcome Committee members asked the applicants to provide a definitive diagram showing the proposed designated drinking/consumption area and to confirm operational safeguards (doors/windows fixed, deliveries through staff only, iPad ID scans, staff training). At the committee’s roll call discussion at the meeting’s end, members indicated they would not support a full on‑premises (OP) liquor license for this location; the committee’s final disposition, recorded in the meeting discussion, recommended consideration of beer‑and‑wine only rather than a full liquor OP license. The committee also asked that any stipulation include the exact clouded/designated area shown on the floor plan and the agreed operational limits.

What’s next: the applicant was asked to supply a clearer floor plan, a finalized seating count, and the technical details of the iPad/ID system. The committee said it would circulate a draft stipulation specifying the licensed area and the operational controls to be re‑signed by the applicant.

Ending: The committee’s discussion closed after more than an hour of questions, with board members and the applicants emphasizing continued outreach and submission of a clarified plan that the committee can condition in any recommendation to the SLA.