(Google Maps)
Less than a week after we reported that Harmon Face Values is shuttering all stores, Bed Bath & Beyond – the flagship brand of its parent company, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. – is seemingly following suit.
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A sales associate at the Upper West Side branch (located at 1932 Broadway just south of 65th Street) confirmed the news, noting that all Manhattan outposts — minus the one in Chelsea — will be closing within the next couple of months.
Additionally, a tipster sent in confirmation of the closure, sharing a snap of the front door of the 53,000-square-foot UWS staple (it’s been open since 2004). As of yesterday, Saturday, February 4, all sales are final and everything store-wide is 10 percent off. Certain coupon tiers are still being honored.
Read About More UWS Closings Here
While the situation may seem surprising to shoppers (when has there not been a line to check out at this particular location?), the company is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy and shutting down 87 stores in the process (the full list of impacted retailers is here).
Always a busy location. Photo by skeddy in NYC via Flickr.
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Prior to these developments, the company laid off over 20 percent of its workforce in recent months. “As our strategic direction changes and we streamline our operations, it is necessary to right-size our organization to ensure we are equipped for the future. Unfortunately, this has necessitated making the difficult decision to say goodbye to some of our colleagues,” a January email to employees read. As of January 26, many severance payments have yet to be received, with updates promised by February 8.
This is the latest shakeup of neighborhood big box retailers, with Marshalls also departing from the Broadway mega-store ecosystem. The UWS Bed Bath & Beyond team member was unsure as to when the Lincoln Center shop would officially close, but our suggestion is to go this week if you want to get the most out of the beloved coupons before it’s too late.
🙁
What will I do with my bbby coupons from 2009???
This is a ? bummer
Time was when we looked down on chain stores in NYC. Now we mourn their closing.
Agreed! We looked down on them because they replaced the smaller independent, even Mom and Pop stores that had supported the neighborhood for decades. Now, what is going to replace that function with BBB and the other chains going? Nothing. None of the smaller stores are going to come back because rents are too high. All we’re left with is online ordering. So, after the big experiment of chain stores in NYC, we have decimated neighborhoods–100 places to get a $6 coffee and a $20 lunch salad to-go, but nowhere to get a screwdriver.
Bravo Jennifer. You hit the nail on the head. What I mourn most of all is the decline in retail offerings in general in NYC these days. Perhaps the younger folks don’t care, but I am not sure how you can have a major cosmopolitan city without dynamic and exciting retail. Especially in a prime neighborhood like the UWS.
Jennifer,
There are plenty of places to get a screwdriver. However a problem with shutting down the BBB across Broadway from Lincoln Center is that housewares stores have disappeared. No more Laytner’s, and the selection of knives, coffee makers, etc at Zabar’s has gone down hill, while the prices have gone up; it’s nowhere near the store it was when it was Murray Klein’s gig.
While it is true that Laytner’s has closed (though it was not housewares, but linens and textiles (sheets, pillowcases, towels, etc.), one can get most household needs at places like Basics Plus (which has reasonable prices), and even hardware stores (which are beginning to stock more household items, like cutlery and appliances).
As for Zabar’s, while I rarely buy anything but food (so I cannot attest to housewares and appliances), I have not found their prices to be particularly high (comparatively), depending on what you are buying.
I know someone who works there. She said many gangs of youths and even solo adults just walk out the store with merchandise and not pay for it. There’s no security or police presence outside. No wonder the store is closing
Strange that I am not seeing this location on any list of BBB store closings, including the one put out by the company 24 hours ago. Only the Harmon store on Broadway and 77th was listed. ???
Yes I noted the same yesterday when my husband reported to me from the BBB that they were “definitely” closing. Maybe they hadn’t finalized the lease termination? Definitely a bit odd.
This was the list of Manhattan stores slated to close, published by BBB on Saturday, 2/4:
675 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10010-5100
850 Third Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232
245 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201
2171 Broadway, New York, NY 10024
It does not include the Lincoln Center store. So how did this even come about?
Something is fishy.
I am not the least bit surprised. It’s a completely different store than it was even three years ago. They don’t carry the same brands, the shelves are consistently empty, and it’s such a huge space to rent. I’m sorry to hear they might be going out of business. Maybe an Amazon distribution center will open in its place.
A resident of the UWS since the late 1980s, I lament the increasing number of empty storefronts along Broadway. This is an affluent neighborhood, I would think that businesses would want to be here! I will miss Bed Bath and Beyond as I already miss the Harmon store, Essentials, Pricewise Discount, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Laytners, John Koch Antiques, Montmartre, Godiva, Gap, Banana republic Gracious home, Century 21, etc. I don’t like shopping online but feel I have no choice.
With the exception of John Koch, I find it interesting that every store you named is a chain store and/or “big box” store. Having lived here since 1965, I can tell you that you missed a time when we actually had what have come to be called “mom and pop” stores (some actually owned by local residents), and small independent stores. Their loss (through a combination of landlord greed, financial chicanery, and lack of commercial rent control, and the invention of the Internet and online shopping), LED to the “big box” and chain stores, which many of us resented. But yes, now we lament the loss of even the chain stores. When banks and “big box” stores can no longer afford the rents (or are being put out of business by Amazon and other online purveyors), then we really are in trouble. 🙁
If you’re feeling nostalgic, Price Wise Discounts still has their East 86 St location
And Steve and Isaac are still around!
The only Bed Bath and Beyond store that is not slated to close in NYC is the Chelsea location. According to employees there, they are the only location that is profitable.
Currently, the stores in Brooklyn are offering 20% off storewide and the stores in Manhattan are offering 10% off storewide. Not much of a discount seeing that everything is marked up to full price to be marked down by 10 or 20%. If you are a Welcome+ Rewards member you still get an additional 20% off, which on some items may be worthwhile. All sales are final in all stores except Chelsea.