Brooklyn Trader Joe’s May Be First in New York To Unionize

Employees at a Trader Joe’s grocery store in Brooklyn are petitioning to unionize, adding to a swelling unionization effort within the national chain and the larger retail industry. Staffers at the store, located in Williamsburg, allege that they’ve been dealing with poor working conditions, racial discrimination, and union busting, according to nonprofit news outlet More Perfect Union. Two Trader Joe’s locations in Massachusetts and Minnesota unionized over the summer, and employees of Trader Joe’s now-closed wine shop in Manhattan alleged last month that the store was abruptly shut down just as they were about to publicize their intent to unionize. (Trader Joe’s denied that the closure was related to union activity.) The Brooklyn outpost will be the first Trader Joe’s store in New York to unionize, if it succeeds.

Seafood staple Mermaid Inn bows out of the Upper West Side

The Mermaid Inn is shutting down its 15-year-old Upper West Side location on October 16, according to the New York Post. The owners “mutually agreed” to part ways with the building’s new landlord, but they say that the seafood hangout may relocate to another spot in the same neighborhood.

White Horse Tavern sued over $650K in unpaid rent

The landlord behind the historic White Horse Tavern in the West Village is suing bar owner Eytan Sugarman for $650,000 in unpaid rent that accumulated during the pandemic, according to the Real Deal.

Bronx’s Riverdale neighborhood hosts first-ever restaurant week

Riverdale Restaurant Week will run from October 1 to October 8 and include 29 restaurants, such as Bronx Alehouse and acclaimed Peruvian spot Claudy’s Kitchen. The event, which is not affiliated with NYC Restaurant Week host NYC & Co., is an effort to bring more visibility to restaurants in the Bronx and address the lack of Bronx representation in the citywide Restaurant Week, organizers tell the Bronx Times.