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Store Aims to Bring Locally-Sourced Groceries to Bed-Stuy

By Camille Bautista | October 29, 2014 2:02pm
 Willoughby General, a new variety store opening in Bed-Stuy this winter, looks to offer basic groceries and goods to residents off the Myrtle-Willoughby train stop.
Willoughby General, a new variety store opening in Bed-Stuy this winter, looks to offer basic groceries and goods to residents off the Myrtle-Willoughby train stop.
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Rachel Tutera

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — The lack of basic goods in a section of Bed-Stuy is prompting a mother and daughter-in-law duo to open their own store.

Willoughby General, the brainchild of Barbara Lester and her daugher-in-law Rachel Tutera, will offer everything from fresh bread, cheese and coffee to pomades and honey — all sourced from local businesses.

Lester had her eye on 518a Willoughby's storefront for about five years after previous occupant the Star-Lite Barber Shop closed. She thought residents needed somewhere to buy basic goods without traveling out of the neighborhood to find a supermarket.

The new project is expected to open in January. Work has already begun on the store's signage and interior.

Tutera, 29, said the neighborhood had limited access to groceries like spices and cured meat around the G train's Myrtle-Willoughby stop. 

“It’s really kind of dehumanizing not to be able to grab a fresh loaf of bread around here,” Tutera said.

“I think most people have gotten used to that routine where they go to an insanely big grocery store in Manhattan, spend 45 minutes in a line, then another 45 minutes commuting home.”

She and Lester, both Bed-Stuy residents, have been collecting suggestions from locals for items they’d like to see in the shop. In an effort to support businesses in the area, Tutera said Willoughby General won’t be offering anything their “beloved” corner stores already carry.

“Inevitably, when a place is gentrifying, other people come in and open their dream store with something they want, like a ramen shop,” Tutera said.

“This is about providing the community with something that’s needed.”

Willoughby General plans on collaborating with area shops including Kitten Coffee and Greenpoint importer and distributor Food Matters Again.