Garden of Eden Closes Up Shop in Chelsea

Although the neighborhood does have some other supermarkets, I'm really sad to see Garden of Eden close on 23rd Street just east of 7th Avenue. It was the perfect middle ground between generic-yet-overpriced Gristede's and Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) -- and happened to be on my way home from work, perfect for when Damian needed me to pick up something for dinner. DNAinfo cited the chain's 2016 bankruptcy filing in which it cited a "historic lack of patronage" thanks to the increased competition. 

Chelsea Now calls the loss a further expansion of Chelsea's "food desert," and I can't say I disagree given the massive number of new residential buildings going up in the area in comparison to grocery options. 

Across the street, however, I couldn't help but notice that Francisco's Centro Vasco -- which closed a couple of weeks ago with a solemn answering-machine thanking customers for 35 years of patronage -- was open for business as usual. I immediately called to ask what was going on and he said they'd changed their mind -- which sounded a little bit like a ploy for attention, like when your friend "deletes" his Facebook profile only to reactivate it a day later.

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