You knew it was coming long before the huge Fairway in Red Hook opened its doors. With reports that the rule-heavy Park Slope Food Coop’s membership has fallen by 700 in less than two months since Fairway opened, there’s much discussion about who's winning the War for the Stomachs of Brooklynites. Coop officials say losing 700 of 13,000 members is nothing, and some members cheer the shrinkage because it'll make shopping the cramped aisles easier. Over at brooklynian, where the rants are ongoing, a Food Coop fan defends the Slope institution, writing:
Yes some people are a tad elitist and bullyish but everyplace I've worked at or been a participant/member of has these problems. Usually the ones calling everybody "Hitler and Stalin" are the ones who feel they should get special treatment.The score might be Fairway 1-Coop 0, and a bunch of players may have bolted from the Coop dugout and signed with the opposing team, but it’s only the bottom of the 1st. Now, what happens when the Coop has to play Whole Foods?
· Battle of the Bulgur: Park Slopers Flee Coop [Intelligencer/NYMag]
· Fairway vs. The Food Coop [OTBKB]