BREAKING: Staubitz Butcher Shop Nearing Closure
Another mom and pop may shutter if a Hail Mary fundraiser fails
Staubitz Market, a beloved Cobble Hill butcher shop and grocery, is on the verge of closing after more than a century in business. This news adds to a disturbing line of recent closures of old school mom and pop shops in South Brooklyn, including the G. Esposito & Sons Jersey Pork Store, which shuttered in April after 100 years in business.
I’ve been shopping at Staubitz Market for more than a decade. It’s the kind of place where locals have house accounts and amble in daily for hand-cut steaks, fresh bread, good cheese, fancy condiments, homemade meatballs, crispy skinned rotisserie chickens. Neighborhood kids stop in to pet Daphne, their fat white cat who’s often asleep in the window, or wandering around on the sidewalk looking irritated. (She may or may not bite you if you attempt to pet her, depending on her mood.)
Particularly during COVID, Sam, Eiji, Craig, and I were there weekly. We’d stand in line, six feet apart on wide wood planked floors, and chat through our masks with the regular crew of friendly butchers (men and women, white, black and brown, a rarity) who stood in white aprons at the ready.
We’d attempt to charm Daphne (it didn’t usually work; we got scratched a lot), while we picked up ingredients for that week’s meal plan: some chicken breasts or thighs, a couple of steaks, maybe some ground pork for mapo ragu, and some stew meat for Friday night Gormeh Sabzi and Choresh. Usually we added on some cheese, a bundle of frozen biscuits and maybe some gochujang. We’d leave with a “see you next week,” as the creaky screen door banged close behind us.
Staubitz originally opened its doors in 1917 and was purchased by John McFadden Sr. in 1967 — 12 years after he began working there at just 19. Sadly, he passed away last year, which his son, John McFadden Jr. said left the “state of the business in shambles.”
Now Staubitz may be forced to close unless an angel investor or a community of generous regulars can raise enough money to keep it open. John Jr. is fundraising $150,000 to save his family’s business, writing on GoFundMe that Staubitz Market is at the “risk of bankruptcy and complete failure.” A number of reasons are contributing to that, including declining revenue, the building’s “decrepit state,” and “business affairs in a mess.”
Most importantly,” wrote Staubitz, “the city served us with an emergency decree to repair the facade of Staubitz Market. With the decreasing income revenue of the store, business affairs in a mess, and the decrepit state of the building; the accumulated expenses have now reached a critical point. Staubitz Market is at risk of bankruptcy and complete failure.”
He continued with a heartfelt plea to his loyal customers: “We are reaching out to our beloved community, loyal patrons, and anyone who appreciates the value of small local ‘mom and pop’ shops and specialty stores that are becoming extinct,” he writes. “This landmark family business will become another empty storefront without your generous support.”
So far, more than $25,000 has been raised. Many regular customers and members of the community left comments on the GoFundMe page offering the business his support and compliments.
“My adult children always remind me of your dad's generosity in handing out lollipops (also to me, the mom),” wrote one donor. “You are what makes this neighborhood so great! Good luck!” said another.
“John, your business is the absolute best! Thanks for reaching out so that the community you have been serving for decades has the opportunity to give back to you. Great product, great people, great service!” wrote another.
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