By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — A longtime neighborhood grocer closed its doors on Sunday after two decades on Avenue A, becoming the latest mom-and-pop shop to succumb to skyrocketing rents.
Graceland, the sprawling deli at the corner of East 2nd Street, had been happily serving East Village residents since 1991, until the building’s landlord raised the rent by more than a third — to about $20,000 per month — forcing the market to close, East Village blog EV Grieve reported.
When it first opened for business, Graceland reportedly paid just $4,000 in rent per month.
The news of Graceland’s closing was upsetting to local patrons.
“Graceland was transformative,” Barbara Hanson wrote in the Daily News’ Wine Explore blog. “Not only was it a place to get cilantro and light bulbs at four in the morning, it was part of the community. Halloween candy was handed out; if a regular didn’t show up for a while, they were asked about.”
The news of Graceland's closures follows recent threats to evict another neighborhood standby, Ray’s Candy Store, from its home of more than 35 years on Avenue A near East 7th Street.
Graceland's owner, Grace Dancyger, will still operate the more upscale deli Gracefully a couple of storefronts down on Avenue A, and a smaller grocery, Adinah’s Farm, around the corner on East 2nd Street.
