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Garden of Eden Berkeley Heights- Closing again!

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Well…that was fast!  Garden of Eden, after agreeing to stay open last week after announcing they were closing, announced they are closing again on July 31st.  I think anyone who shopped there regularly and stopped by over the last week, definitely should have seen this coming as GoE didn’t really bother restocking much of their original merchandise.  Further, I tried to buy some produce there several times and found a lot of it was either moldy or on its way there quickly.   IF they were serious about staying open and giving it a go, they really didn’t do much to prove it.

I think it goes without saying (but I’m gonna say it anyway) that they have made several missteps here.  First, and foremost, remaining open for one week is not giving the market a fair shot!  I don’t even think they really ever really tried with this market and giving it less than a week after four months or so total time proves that point.  GoE squandered a great opportunity to drive business to the store with the festival that was held here in Berkeley Heights last week.  There was a ton more foot and drive-by traffic around the store over a five day period and they did nothing to encourage passers-by into coming into the store.  They did place a small sign advertising a few produce specials outside the store but they could have really capitalized on the festival and news that they were staying open with a modicum of effort.  Had they done anything such as extending hours, offering festival specials on prepared food, or anything at all, I think they would have been happy with the results of that effort.

Second, and maybe worse, they attempted to rebrand themselves as a store that can support ‘one stop shopping’.  They mentioned this over and over again in their emails and communication with customers after they announced they were giving it another go.  This simply isn’t and wasn’t the case.  GoE does not have the inventory to compete with or even approach the variety of items found at Stop N Shop, Kings, Target, Costco, etc.  Did they have some paper towels and some baggies?  Yes, they did and that’s great for convenience in a pinch.  However, who is really going to buy one package of two paper towel rolls here in the suburbs?  Who, in the suburbs, doesn’t buy multiple roll packs or purchase in bulk at Costco or Target?  They simply can’t compete on that level and they were kidding themselves if they thought they could or, worse, they were kidding their customers by saying they could offer that! They are a gourmet grocery store that sells gourmet prepared foods as well.  C’on GoE, embrace who you are!

At any rate, last week I was disappointed they were closing.  This time around, I’m over it!  I’ll gladly go back to shopping  at Stop N Shop, Kings, the Farmer’s markets, and the meat markets around the area and augment all of that with the occasional on-line order.  They are offering 20% off everything right now.  Who knows if they will offer deeper discounts as the days pass.  I’m unsure I’ll go back to find out…


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Update on Berkeley Heights’ Garden of Eden: Not Closing Sunday!

Garden of Eden NY

Garden of Eden Berkeley Heights

So, I just spoke with Shawn, a manager at Garden of Eden in Berkeley Heights.  Spoke to him for some time and he made it clear that the store hopes to remain open.  They are looking at a good number of options to improve the store and to improve foot traffic into the store in order to increase business.  They have a survey circling around Facebook and other places and, if you haven’t done so, go ahead and take the time to complete it.  I think they are taking the results very seriously and using it as a guide for where to take the store from here.  Shawn said that he thinks it’s safe to say that the store WILL NOT CLOSE ON SUNDAY as originally reported.  He didn’t have a lot of answers as to when or if it will close eventually as the situation is fluid and the actual decision is ultimately up to the owner.

If you haven’t been to Garden of Eden, you should go before it’s too late.  For one thing, we should support a business that took a risk to open in Berkeley Heights.  For another, they offer such great gourmet items.  We do not purchase the prepared hot foods, etc. mainly because if we are home, I cook.  However, I can say that the food is made using whole foods and is of a higher quality than you would normally find at a generic grocery store.

I made it a point to let Shawn know that they should seriously consider doing something special for the festival here in Berkeley Heights in the coming days.  However, regardless of whether they do that or not, if you are from the area, go in and check the place out as you stroll to or from the festival.  Everything is still discounted at 20% off, so there are deals to be had.  While you are there, if you end up liking it as much as I do, stop by and tell Shawn or whoever is managing at the time that you are local and appreciate what they are doing.

In my opinion, Garden of Eden is a great addition to Berkeley Heights and the surrounding area.  It’s local (based here and in NYC), they offer a great selection of difficult to find items, and have some quality premade food and deli items.  It would be a shame if they went away and we who live locally are forced, once again, to travel to different towns (or order on-line) to find items that are currently in our own back yard.

There’s my two cents.  Hope it helps persuade a few of you to try Garden of Eden and I certainly hope Garden of Eden listens to the many people from the area that have already expressed their support for the store.