West Side Market
West Side Market is a supermarket at 110th and Broadway. After being closed for three years due to the construction of a new building on its site, it reopened on June 1, 2007.[1]
West Side Market is generally thought to be the best supermarket in Morningside Heights. Its goods and decor are noticeably better than Morton Williams and D'Agostino. Garden of Eden and Milano Market may have even higher quality produce, but they serve mainly as specialty stores.
History
The market originally located on the ground floor of the terracotta building then located on the northeast corner of 110th and Broadway. With a reputation for being much cheaper than other local supermarkets, particularly Morton Williams and D'Ag, it was highly popular with Columbia students. West Side shared its building with Columbia Hot Bagels and the Chinese Dynasty Restaurant. When the building owner decided to build a condiminium at the site, West Side Market, CoBag, and Dynasty had to close. [2]
The shuttering of West Side was a traumatic event for the Morningside Heights community. When its front windows were boarded up, locals wrote love letters to the old store, recalling episodes from their lives that took place in its aisles and threatening to move away from the neighborhood if it did not return.
Legal wrangling over zoning law caused several months of construction delays, ending in the destruction of what was then the oldest existing commercial structure in Morningside Heights. [3][4][5] West Side Market opted to return to the new building, while CoBag and Dynasty chose not to. [6]
References
- ↑ Spec Article: West Side Market Returns to Morningside After Hiatus
- ↑ Spec article: CoBag may not return
- ↑ Spec article: Building enters final phase
- ↑ Fate of Historic 110th Building In Doubt Again
- ↑ [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2004/09/22/disputed-surrender-variance-latest-twist-110th-st-development Disputed Surrender of Variance Latest Twist in 110th St. Development ]
- ↑ Spec article: West Side Market to return
