Key points

Luxury specialty grocers such as Meadow Lane, Happier Grocery, and Rigor Hill Market are attracting attention in New York City with high-priced prepared foods and products designed to generate social media buzz.

Viral items offer a way to participate in the hype around these trendy destinations without splurging on a full grocery haul.

Social media buzz generates long lines for items like Meadow Lane’s chicken tenders and Butterfield Market’s Dot Cake, even when the products may not offer exceptional quality or value.

Once upon a time, a gourmet food emporium held court on a prominent SoHo corner. Founded in 1977, Dean & DeLuca became a Manhattan destination for prepared foods, imported cheeses, hard-to-find ingredients, and signature tote bags. The grocer also served as a go-to coffee and lunch spot for neighborhood workers, a high-end food store for SoHo residents, and a destination for visitors eager to taste a bite of its legendary provisions. The store was often busy, if not crowded, but no one waited in long lines on the sidewalk just to go grocery shopping.

Today, the Dean & DeLuca flagship at 560 Broadway is gone, its former space now occupied by an outpost of American Eagle. But luxury grocers abound in Manhattan with bigger buzz, steeper prices, and prepared foods primed for social media virality.

When Meadow Lane opened in Tribeca in November 2025, a line of people curled around the block in not-so-balmy 50-degree air, waiting in their jackets and beanies to get a taste of 28-year-old billionaire heir Sammy Nussdorf’s first culinary venture. 

The compact, 2,000-square-foot market — compared with the 10,000 to 25,000 square feet typical of New York City grocery stores — had been teased on social media for over a year. Despite reports from early visitors that its $17 gluten-free breaded chicken strips ($22 if you order via a delivery platform), called The Tenders, were undercooked and often not hot enough, people waited for hours on the windy sidewalk to shop and share their hauls on social media, even if they bought only a few items.

Months later, the store is often empty when I walk by, though social media creators and tourists still stop in for popular items like The Tenders or plastic containers of cold chicken or tuna salads that go for about $14 each.

Why luxury grocery stores are going viral

With grocery prices continuing to rise and New York City’s mayor proposing city-run grocery stores to address food insecurity, the appeal of paying $7.50 for a conventional crown of broccoli at Happier Grocery — dubbed the “Erewhon of New York” by influencers — or $40 for a rotisserie chicken at nearby Rigor Hill Market can be difficult to reconcile. After all, New Yorkers are no strangers to good food, from abundant cheap eats to world-class fine-dining establishments — even for those eager to try someplace new for every meal.

Related: Government-Owned Grocery Stores Aren’t New — Could They Work Today?

Then again, social media hype doesn’t necessarily reflect how people shop day to day. “Folks aren’t doing their full grocery shopping at stores like Meadow Lane, but they are going to purchase items that make their way onto social media, like the viral Dot Cake from Butterfield or the chicken nuggets from Meadow Lane,” says Venus Grimes, a former pastry chef and certified financial planner. Grimes notes that many products sold at these luxury grocers are similar or even identical to those available at conventional supermarkets, just presented in a more stylish, artful setting.

For some, the appeal of the viral luxury grocer is as much about participating in the latest food trend as it is about what that grocer is actually selling. An Hermès bag may cost nearly as much as some New Yorkers spend on rent in a year, but a $14 container of egg salad seasoned with nutritional yeast, shio koji, and rice vinegar offers a more accessible splurge.

“This is yet another case of people wanting to say they have been to popular places, try the viral specialty item, post it on social media, and show it off,” says Grimes. 

The experience matters more than the taste

Chef and cookbook author Alison Roman’s forthcoming First Bloom Corner Store in Brooklyn Heights is likely to draw crowds when it opens, but a specialty grocer doesn’t have to be new to generate a line.

In May, 100-year-old Butterfield Market on the Upper East Side drew lines around the block for selling the viral Dot Cake, an $11 cup of cake made at Long Island bakery The Dotcakes, that comes topped with colorful nonpareils. The dessert drew comparisons on social media to Mexican pan de cortadillo, while hundreds of videos documented customers waiting more than an hour to try it. For some, the payoff didn’t live up to the hype, especially considering the abundance of excellent baked goods available nearby at similar or lower prices.

Weeks into the trend, food influencers Sister Snacking visited a busy Butterfield Market location to try the red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate versions of the dessert. They enjoyed the cake, noting that “it tastes really homemade,” but also pointed out that it leaned towards being too sweet and could easily be re-created at home — all you need is a copious amount of the right sprinkles.

These grocery stores don’t necessarily promise exceptional quality or value, and the lines for their viral offerings may disappear as quickly as the social media buzz that created them. But for shoppers eager to taste the latest trend, join the conversation, and be part of the moment, the social component is why these stores appeal. If you agree, join the line.

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