Fresh Direct/Roaches

Eww!

Fairway will love this.

Awesome. I am so glad I don't use Fresh Direct. Thanks for the warning.

EV - if it is true then it isn't enough for you to not use FD, you have to make sure no one else in your building does.

Methinks NYPub has an alternate agenda. As an 8 year weekly recipient of FD, I have not once seen a roach in my place, and have never heard of others having such an issue. I would think that the FD warehouse goes to GREAT lengths to prevent any roach issues. NYPub - not sure you are within your bounds to restrict FD deliveries, but perhaps you will get away with it.

^^Ditto. I have never gotten roaches anywhere I live in NYC, and I get food delivered from FD, Food Emporium, and Walgreens in cardboard boxes. Epic fail.

i don't think a LL could put such a clause in a rental agreement.

agreed. fresh direct for years, never a roach.

iPhones have bedbugs! -Verizon

NYpublisher,

Might be an angry fresh direct customer.

What's to be angry about? It's fresh, it's direct.

Um, you guys know that their main base of operations is in Long Island City, right? I think alan can fill in the rest.

this could happen with box deliveries from ANY place (duane reade, amazon, etc). BTW - roaches also like the glue in paper bags so you can just as easily bring them into your home from the grocery store bags.

Frankly, would prefer the roaches I can step from FD on to the roaches I can't at Fairway.

Just to chime to ditto, also never had a roach problem with fresh direct. This actually sounds kind of absurd. You have to unpack the boxes to get the groceries out...I think I would notice if there a bunch of roaches crawling over my groceries.

Freshly and direct
Over Newton Creek to me
Too much packaging

Too lazy to shop?
How can you eat produce that
You didn't handpick?

I agee with Motumbo, this sounds like a ticked off person who wants to ruin Fresh Directs business. Who knows if there are other details left out.

NYpublisher has never posted to these boards before, so I take this all with a huge block of salt.

I would sooner think it was the chinese delivery guy than fresh direct, and before either the fact that bugs can crawl through tiny holes and even water pipes.

Fresh Direct is great...I've used them since they went into businees and never had a problem.
I don't know what I would do without them, no more lugging very heavy items home.

when i used to order from Fresh Direct, i never got roaches.
tho their stuff reall isn't that fresh..They will always give you the oldest dated bread/milk. If u went to the market you'd fish around for the farthest dated item, in their case i think they try to move their older stuff which is not my problem if it goes to waste. As for their delivery guys, they always seem to conveniently forget a box and its a different guy every time so you can't even get to know them/no point in tipping since its a different person every time.

freshdirect for years, never a problem. prices are great, any issues I've had were minor and always fixed

I love Fresh D and I've also used them for 8+ years and never had roaches in any of the 3 apts for which I used FD. Sorry I just don't buy it at all. My kid plays in those cardboard boxes all the time. No creepy crawlers

I think FD is just "ok". SOMETIMES their stuff is not "fresh", not always. But they have a rather limited selection of many items. Their produce and meat are usually MUCH more abundant than any FE or Gristides or DAgistino I have gone to, but MUCH LESS various than say a typical Safeway back in California. So by Manhattan standards good.

Everything else - dry goods, frozen goods, etc, they don't have as much variety as I would like.

jason10006,

Unfresh applies to a lot of supermarkets!

one thing I'll say is, FD picks better produce than I could (or its just not as banged up as in the supermarket with everyone picking). meat and meal quality also very good.

Part of it is, we're just used to crappy, crappy supermarkets (or overpriced whole foods).

somewhereelse,

Out of greater NYC supermarkets are different, the food and produce is fresh.
I love the burbs!

http://www.freedrinkrecipes.com/cocktails-drinks-recipes/flamingcockroach-drink-recipe.html

... garnish as you like

So there they are in the fresh direct packing plant...
Puffing dubbies and pack'in boxes...
Bunch of out of work brokers just past their 99TH week.
"HEY?", the new guy asks," What do ya do with the roaches"?
"Chuck'em in the box, in this booming RE market, we'll be back at our desks before anyone complains", say's the more senior broker/box packer.

mutombo, just go to the Fairway in Red Hook. It beats the pants off anything in the city. I just hope they don't dilute their brand with all the expansion they're planning.

Live in a large building, and believe me, nary a roach in sight despite frequent FD deliveries. Actually, I don't use them for other reasons.

I think Alan has the right perspective!

never had a problem w/ roaches and FD

"Out of greater NYC supermarkets are different, the food and produce is fresh.
I love the burbs!"

Agreed, and so much cheaper.

"Out of greater NYC supermarkets are different, the food and produce is fresh. "

Very true. I was just back home in California, and my god the Safeways not just in Newport Beach but in fricking straight up middle class Burbank were like Parisian farmers markets compared to the most "upscale" manhattan supermarkets in Lenox Hill or Chelsea. I mean, where we have two kinds of peaches - organic or not - they have 10 kinds, year round. 50 kinds of lettuce. And a wine section bigger than 5 Manahttan liquor stores. And the delis are bigger than the entire supermarket closest to my house.

And its all a LOT cheaper. I mean, even the Beverly Hills/WeHo and Newport Beach Safeway (Vons.)

evnyc...I'm sure you've noticed that Alan seems to have the right perspective on alot of issues. How's the new business going?

bjw2103,

I will follow suit and report back to you.

somewhereelse,

I thought of shopping at Stew Leonard's, has anyone shopped there? I might have to drive out to L.I. and try there supermarkets.

jason10006,

LOL @ WeHo.

NYC needs an amazing supermarket.

NYCDreamer, thanks as always! Do you mean my new business, or evnyc's new business? And how's The Hunt going?

mutombonyc -- DON'T DO IT!!! Stew Leonard's is a hellhole ... it makes Costco seem pleasant. And that aside, there's no upside to it either.

Fairway is amazing enough for me, but goes a little bit more downhill each time they open a new store.

Fairway (at least in Red Hook) is the closest thing to hell on this side of the equator. It is horribly laid out, different brands (or, perhaps, genres) of the same product is in 5 locations on opposite ends of the store, and logically located exactly where no one would look. Eggs, cereals and condiments are in at least three locations each. Paper towels, etc. in two. Even basic spices are in three places. Dog food? Two, one of which logically is located next to one of the places to find plastic bags (which, mind you, is not next to the paper towels) the other, of course, is in the "health food" section. Top that off with clientele that reminds you why you have always hated Park Slope, most pulling an aisle-blocking, Hummer-sized baby carriage just removed from the hybrid SUV in the parking lot that he/she has no idea how to drive.

Unfortunately, the produce and meat selection makes it difficult to pass up if passing through Brooklyn. So, my wife and I split up the shopping list, take a deep breath and dash through the aisles, usually multiple times because it is easy to forget that the Kashi cereals are in the health food section, but the granola is in the cereal section 6 aisles away.

I'm not sure if these are food-safe as cocktail garbage:

http://www.zymetrical.com/cockroaches-p-82.html?gclid=CJ647f_KwaMCFdJL5QodPmt1aQ

Alan.... I was referring to evnyc's new business. I didn't know about yours. Good luck. I was in city last week. Still looking but not aboutready.

From FreshDirect: At FreshDirect we take these accusations very seriously. We take every precaution possible to preserve a sanitary environment at the facility and strictly follow all New York state food and safety laws. NYpublisher, please feel free to contact us at 718-928-1527 if you'd like to discuss.‬

In college, I got crabs from delivering a pizza

NYPub must have gotten one too many dented cans. Instead of getting all slanderous, just try calling them. They're really nice and will credit your account.

JuiceMan, that's quite a tip (I don't mean the crabs)!

nyc_sport, I honestly don't know if we're talking about the same store. The Red Hook Fairway is pretty well laid out. Granola is literally right next to the Kashi cereals. It is a huge store, which can be exhausting, especially if you're only looking for a few things, but the prices and selection are pretty outstanding. But hey, as long as it doesn't get as crowded as the UWS location (which I love, as well, but it's insane sometimes), I'll keep going back.

I have been a FreshDirect customer for over 6 years. I never received a roach or anything else in my boxes other then the great food. The customer service is awesome and they even carry my boxes to my kitchen. I think this is a scam to hurt the company. I called and have been advised this is why the boxes are not reused.

JuiceMan,

You worked for that tip!

"Fairway (at least in Red Hook) is the closest thing to hell on this side of the equator. It is horribly laid out, different brands (or, perhaps, genres) of the same product is in 5 locations on opposite ends of the store, and logically located exactly where no one would look."

Agreed 100%! Was happy when it showed up, but after a while, just realized it sucked and went back to FD, plus some gourmet markets.

mutumbo, on stew leonard's, really depends which one. I think the one in westchester (cross county i think??) gets pretty bad, but I've done the fairfield one a bunch, even on weekends, and like it. It can get crowded, but its got a nice layout and good prices. I wouldn't drive out just for it, but its a nice stop on a trip to the burbs.

"Agreed 100%! Was happy when it showed up, but after a while, just realized it sucked and went back to FD, plus some gourmet markets."

Really? When did you go? I have to question whether either of you have ever actually been to the store.

I used to live in Westport, CT and always shopped at the Norwalk Stew Leonard's--the store is very nicely laid out and was actually 'fun' to shop--great prices and quality merchandise as well. I have never shopped at any of the other locations.

The one I was referring to is the Yonkers one (the exit from the Dew-y Truw-y is marked "Stew Leonard Drive"!). It's laid out the way the earliest self-serve groceries were, or the way the Swedish Maze of Death still is, forcing you to march through every aisle ... and god help you if you forgot an item in a section you already passed through.

I was talking about stew's in Westchester too. Thanks for the heads up!

NYC needs a more than a extraordinary supermarket! Something identical to what jason10006 described.

That freshdirect phone number is a sado/maso porn line.

I grew up shopping at the old (pre-expansion) Fairway on 74th street, spent too many years hating the overpriced supermarkets of southern California, and now consider the Fairway on 125th Street to be my own person slice of heaven. There are lots of awful supermarkets in NYC but that's not one of them.

Never tried Fresh Direct, in part because of the thousands of boxes I see dumped on NYC streets every week. Potential roach eggs aside, that's just an inexcusable waste of cardboard.

I wouldn't be so quick to entirely dismiss the FreshDirect roaches connection.

My one thought could be that the tenant with the problem ordered a ton of food/produce of a particular type that naturally drew more roaches. Also, the possibility that trucks that tend to service a particular route were infested, and she frequently got those trucks.

Someone else mentioned roach eggs. When we've used FD, we always unpack right away, and always got the boxes out of the apartment within just a few minutes. If someone were less vigilant about that, they could wind up with problems, it seems to me. A good example is if you don't order much produce from them. In that case, someone could easily take their time unpacking what they got. (Stash the boxes in a closet or pantry, maybe?)

I find it hard to believe that no one, ever, on here saw any sort of bug or roach in any of their FD over the years. While the original poster's story does seem a little pat, having zero incidents at all among everyone else strikes me as a little odd as well.

>and now consider the Fairway on 125th Street to be my own person slice of heaven.

Um, I meant "own personal slice of heaven." Though I wouldn't turn down my own person slice of heaven, either, whatever THAT means.

Fresh Direct is for Lemmings. go to Western Beef where the Savvy people shop.

"the overpriced supermarkets of southern California"

Its a fact that groceries are more expensive in Manhattan, per the inputs into the Consumer Price Index. A LOT more. And the fact that I am a NYLA boy. I know with my own eyes and wallet.

Central Market, Dallas - best food market in the US. There's nothing remotely comparable in NY.

We spent a year in Dallas. I hated almost everything about it, except the shopping. Central Market is, hands down, the best food market I've ever seen outside of France. Incredible selection, astonishingly high quality across the board, (including a spectacular seafood section in a very landlocked city!) amazing selection, caring, knowledgeable staff, great wine section, even great music, including live bands on weekends. It makes Whole Foods look like a ghetto bodega. Now I have Staubitz butcher, Fish Tale, Sahadi's and many other great stores, but they still can't match the selection and quality of Central Market. It's the only thing I really miss about Dallas.

@jason10006, may I call you NYLA boy?

I'm sure that groceries are indeed, on average, more expensive in Manhattan than in LA. When I referred to the overpriced supermarkets of southern California I was referring to the supermarkets of southern California that are overpriced, and contrasting them with my beloved Fairway.

@oohah, thanks for the Western Beef tip. I'll check them out as I like to be savvy, too.

"I find it hard to believe that no one, ever, on here saw any sort of bug or roach in any of their FD over the years."

I find FD a million times cleaner than any supermarket, with dirty customers running in and out and picking through everything.

I'd worry more about the bags you take home from one of those underground dagastinos waaaay before fd.

> The one I was referring to is the Yonkers one

Yeah, I've done norwalk mostly. a nice setup. i get not liking going through everything, but to me thats part of the fun, a chance to browse at a leisurely pace.

Some people have even had bad bananas, milk and squishy tomatoes: http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/35581-rental-security-matter

Another example of how cloyingly unfunny you are.

You work at this WAY too hard.

cloying sounds like an SAT word

So Fresh Direct charges different prices depending where you live, I just read in the Post.