Super (Duper) Market Hits NYC With Artisanal Food From Both Coasts

by Jessica Marati on

There are supermarkets and then there are Super (Duper) Markets – in other words, what happens when big names like PAPER Magazine, Target and American Express team up to create a culinary experience. Kicking off Friday, the event will bring together food innovators from across the country for a three-day pop-up supermarket in a raw Chelsea warehouse space in New York City.

The Super (Duper) Market will feature a selection of West Coast imports, like Boulette’s Larder, Humphrey Slocombe, Tartine Bakery and Miette Candy, along with East Coast favorites like Red Rooster and The Spotted Pig. And then there are the wild cards, like organic eggs raised on hotelier Andre Balazs’ Locust Farm and olive oil produced by designer Norma Kamali. There will also be cooking workshops for children and exclusive private dinners in the evenings.

So wait – why are PAPER, Target and AmEx entering the pop-up artisanal food market arena again?

“Instead of starting bands or making art so many young, creative people are baking, cooking, butchering and growing or raising food naturally, sustainably and responsibly,” said PAPER editor and publisher Kim Hastreiter in a release. “Everyone from farmers to cheese makers, organic winemakers to foragers, spice mix masters to amazing innovative chefs. There are even those who are innovating off the grid – baking divine nettles and peach pizza over wood on the back of a pickup truck; or adding truffle and foie gras to ice cream! It is to these idealistic innovators and to this spirit that I tip my hat and dedicate the Super (Duper) Market.”

My curiosity and appetite are sufficiently piqued.

Super (Duper) Market will take place Friday, July 13, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, July 14, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, July 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 410 West 16th Street in New York City.

Woolworth’s, the famous shopping icon, is closing its doors in the U.K.

by Jamie Rhein on

“My cousin said that all the Woolworth’s in Britain are closing starting tomorrow,” my mother-in-law said today as she was driving me to run an errand outside of Cleveland where we’re visiting for a few days. “He’s very upset.”

Her cousin, who we visited a few years ago, lives in Cornwall. The economic downturn has meant curtains to this bargain shopping icon that was still making a go of it in Great Britain after the U.S. stores closed.

I remember going to the Woolworth’s in State College, Pennsylvania with my best friend when we were in the 5th grade. Those were in the days when it was considered safe for kids to ride their bicycles all over town. Our mission, mostly, was to get a Coke at the lunch counter and take our pictures in the automatic photo booth, the kind that spits out a long vertical strip of four.

When F. W. Woolworth, the company that was created in the U.S. in 1879, closed its doors in the U.S., I must have been living overseas because I only have a vague recollection of the news.

Now, that the 807 stores are closing across Great Britain starting tomorrow, including the one in the photo taken by Redvers in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, I feel a whiff of nostalgic sadness. Folks in Great Britain, according to this article posted at TwinCities.com, feel the same.

Woolworths are friendlier than mega stores like Wal-mart and Target. The lunch counters say stay awhile. The goods always seemed like just the right amount of choices. Sure, it’s great to load up a cart at a big store, but the choices can be too many, and the cart can easily be overloaded with things we really don’t need by the time we reach the checkout counter.

Woolworth’s stores seem to evoke literary themes found in novels like To Kill a Mockingbird–the small town “How de dos.” Walmart greeters sure have a lot of pressure to make us feel welcome in the rush to find a bargain. Although Grant recently wrote about London not being as expensive as a place to buy gifts as he thought it would be, the options are decreasing. Too bad.

Thanks for the memories Woolworth’s.

Peek personal email device shaves $20 off its price

by Scott Carmichael on

Remember Peek? This little personal email device popped in for a quick review back in August, and left me quite impressed. At the time, Peek was selling for $99.95, with a $19.95/month unlimited plan.

Peek just announced that they are gearing up for the Christmas season by dropping the price to $79.95! The new price is already in effect on their site, and at retailers that carry the device.

In fact, this week only (until November 8th), you’ll find Peek at your local Target store for $79.95 with a free $10 Target gift card, making the final price just $69.95! You can pick up a Peek with no contract, and no paperwork to sign.

If you need any convincing that Peek is worth its money, check out Time’s best innovations of 2008; Peek is currently in the lead, ahead of popular gadgets like the iPod touch!