Patel Brothers 37-27 74th St. Jackson Heights (Queens Post)
March 31, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A popular Indian-American supermarket chain has announced that it has temporarily closed all of its U.S. stores – including its Jackson Heights location – in order to help flatten the coronavirus curve.
Patel Brothers – which runs over 50 grocery stores specializing in food found in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East – said it was shuttering all of its locations in order to help stop the spread of the disease in the areas where it operates.
The company has three stores in Queens including a location at 37-27 74th St. Jackson Heights. Patel Brothers has two other stores in the borough, one located at 42-92 Main St., Flushing, and the other at 251-08 Hillside Ave., Bellerose.
The stores will be closed for ten days, beginning March 30 and will re-open again on April 9, the company announced Friday.
A sign on the door of Patel Brothers, 37-27 74th St. Jackson Heights (Queens Post)
“We believe that this is an important step to help flatten the curve, and especially important to protect our communities,” the company said in a series of tweets Friday.
“We wish to protect our staff and our customers, as well as the first responders and medical professionals who are working tirelessly to save us.”
“Each day that we isolate, social distance, or quarantine counts. Each day works toward stopping the spread and allowing our healthcare system to take care of individuals who have been exposed.”
Dear Customers:
After careful consideration, and with the safety of the community being paramount, we have decided to close all of our locations effective Monday, March 30th and hope to reopen within 10 days.https://t.co/RDr5gfSlJs
— Patel Brothers (@PBrosfan) March 27, 2020
The company has also addressed rumors circulating on social media that employees at their stores had tested positive for coronavirus.
“Our stores do not have any reported cases by employees,” the company’s website read.
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10 Comments
Jimmy g don’t you own that trouble spot bar on 71street and 35avenue? And your complaining ! Fix your problem of a business first. Constantly trouble at this spot. Fights,drug,drunk people on sidewalk in front drunks who start trouble with us neighbors. Do not throw stone when you live in glass ?
They should limit how many people
Are in the store at once. Or have people order on line & arrange a pick-up time. We need safe access to food in this neighborhood!
They should put up another sign encouraging the south asian community to STOP SPITTING on the sidewalk. Don’t these people know that spitting can spread disease, including COVID-19? They wear masks but then lift them up to spit on the sidewalk without concern for where it lands. No wonder this area has so many people infected. STOP SPITTING!
These are filthy stores, just like back in Bengali. So is 74th street. It’s terrible. This ruined Jackson heights.
Actually, I like Patel Brothers and shop there quite a bit. I’ve always found it to be just as clean, if not cleaner, than the other super markets in the area (definitely more so than C-Town). The amount of spit that people lay down between 75th and 72nd is disgusting under normal circumstances, but now it’s flat out irresponsible. Someone really needs to tell people to STOP SPITTING!
Food is essential for those of us following governmental guidelines and staying home. The fact that a leading supplier of food for many families in our neighborhood, Patel Brothers, shut down when we need them most is irresponsible. This company should have made personal protective equipment available for its staff, boosted wages and agreed to provide paid sick time for employees who fall ill. Patel Brothers benefited from a windfall of extra sales in February and March as families stockpiled food. But closing abruptly has left many longtime customers without a source of fresh food. Trader Joe, Walmart, Stop & Shop, Kroger, Wegmans, Publix and dozens of other national chain supermarkets decided they will serve the public during bad times and good. Patel Brothers has taken the easy money and then left customers in a lurch. That’s poor corporate citizenship.
Dave,
You don’t shop there, do you?
Close store
Pay rent/ lose perishable inventory
???
Profit
Also trader joes has closed some locations.
Having grocery stores/other essentials temporarily shut down sucks because it causes people to congegate to what’s left, but I doubt the act if doing so has created a windfall.
I’m very upset I get my goat hoofs here
? Thank you. from a health care worker.