For
the longest time, I’ve felt like Passaic County was the poor, misunderstood
stepchild. No King’s, nary a Whole Foods, not a Wegman’s within 30 miles of
here. Sure we’ve got your basic food stores, and yes, we’ve been surviving (barely!) just
fine, thank you. But come June 6th, we’re getting a Fairway!
And
what a Fairway it is! Taking over the old Pathmark store on Rt 46 West in
Woodland Park, Fairway management gutted the entire building and started from
scratch. I got a preview of what’s to come from Dan Glickberg, third generation
of the Fairway family. Dan’s grandfather started with a little produce market
on 74th and Broadway in Manhattan 79 years ago, and they’ve been going strong
ever since.
Join
me, as I take you along for a sort of virtual tour. When you enter the store,
beautiful fresh flowers greet you. If you decide to make a right, a wonderful
wine shop awaits. More about this later.
Make
a left off the main entrance and welcome to the produce section. Since produce was the bedrock of the Fairway
empire, it’s only fitting that upon entering the store, you are immediately
immersed in it. They pride themselves on offering the highest quality produce.
There will be a large organic section and plenty of local produce. They try to
source locally when possible.
If
you can take your eyes off the fabulous fruits and veggies for a minute, take a
glance upward at the artwork gracing the walls all around the store. These
beautiful paintings are all done free hand by Fairway’s artist in residence.
The attention to detail is astounding.
Next
to produce is the bakery. Close your eyes and imagine made from scratch
baguettes and bagels. Real. Water. Bagels. This Fairway will have a dough room,
producing fresh pastry. I can hardly contain myself.
Keep
up now. We’ve got alot more ground to cover. Here to our left is the deli, with
everything prepared fresh in-store. We’re talking hot items, charcuterie, smoked fish,
salmon, lox, and gads more.
An
olive bar sits close by the cheese department with over 600 tantalizing
offerings from all over the world. You might want to pick up some olives and
cheese to go with that lovely Sauvignon Blanc you’ll buy in the wine store on your way out.
Something
special in this store is a café serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, with an espresso
bar, seating 60 people.
Now
we come to the meat department. Fairway ages its own prime beef 21 days
in-house, this gives it more flavor and tenderness. All the meat is hand
selected and custom-cut on-site. They also offer choice beef, by way of breed
specific Hereford. American and Australian lamb will be in the meat cases,
along with Dubreton pork, and a wide selection of Kosher meats.
All
the Fairway stores roast their own coffees, and this one is no different. They
will offer 68 coffees so you’re sure to find the perfect one to go with that
morning bagel. Did I mention they were real water bagels? I may have.
As
we venture down the center aisles, I see staff stocking olive oil. Dan tells me
they offer over 100 olive oils, including some that Fairway sources on their
own. They’ll have olive oil tastings every day.
Even
though you may come to Fairway for a steak or some gorgeous seafood, or to look
for that hard-to-find cheese you had on vacation in San Francisco, they have
all your every day items, too. From dairy to cereal, from soup to nuts, they’ve
got it. Their shelves are lined with
over 45,000 traditional, specialty, and organic groceries, including a large
selection of gluten-free items.
Now
about that wine shop... Fairway Wines and Spirits in Woodland Park (only two
other stores offer wine) has been designed by Joshua Wesson, the co-founder of
Best Cellars, and in 1986 named one of the top five sommeliers in the
world. Joshua’s theory in putting this
store together was to create a breadth of wine selection, to create the excitement
of a new wine discovery without having to pay alot. Eighty percent of the 600
wines will cost between $10-30.00. You’ll find wines not available elsewhere. Of course they will have daily wine tastings, but what makes
these tastings different from other wine stores, is the food pairings – think smoked
salmon, artisanal cheeses. And are you perplexed about what wine goes with that gorgeous rack of lamb you just bought? The staff in the wine shop can help.
We’ve
done a full circle around the store. Dan has been a gracious host, but they’re
really busy putting the finishing touches on the store so we’ve got to go. But
we’ll be back on Wednesday, June 6th at 10am for the grand opening. If I were you,
I’d put it on the calendar. Not only will you be able to do your own touring around the
store, tasting here and there, but they are planning some incredible opening
day festivities, such as the Hindquarter Giveaway (where you could walk away
with 130 pounds of prime meat), and a chance to Crack the Vault to win a $5,000
shopping spree.
So
it may have taken awhile for Passaic County to get our due, but I think we’ve
hit the jackpot on this one.
Fairway
Market
1510
Rt 46 West
Woodland
Park, NJ
973-339-5103
Joshua
Wesson (@joshuawine) is known to be among the most successful,
knowledgeable and engaging people in international wine-and-spirits industry.
In 1989, he was nominated for the Who’s Who in American cooking. In 1990, he
was elected to the board of the American Institute of Wine & Food’s New
York chapter. In 1997, Food & Wine magazine named him the Retail Wine
Innovator of the Year for his work with Best Cellars which he founded. He is
considered to be a leading authority on the pairing of wine and food and has written
extensively on the subject in books and magazines.
