They\u2019re nearing their expiration date.<\/p>\n
An Upper West Side grocery store that defied orders to shut down over stomach-turning health violations last year is being evicted after falling more than $1 million behind on rent, records show.<\/p>\n
Barzini\u2019s \u2014 plastered with liquidation signs for weeks \u2014 will be booted from its Broadway space next week after owners ignored an initial June deadline to vacate the premises, Joseph Cervini, an attorney representing the landlord, told The Post.<\/p>\n
Barzini\u2019s has been an Upper West Side staple since 1983. Michael Nigro for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a situation where the landlord wanted this tenant to leave,\u201d Cervini said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a matter of fact, the landlord waived a million dollars in back rent for this tenant and did everything in its power to try to work through this. It\u2019s just the tenant wasn\u2019t able to pay. And that\u2019s a significant amount of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shop is already listed as \u201cavailable immediately\u201d with the option to split the 3,600-square-foot \u201cprime\u201d space between up to three tenants.<\/p>\n
The closure comes after a year of legal back-and-forth between the tenant and landlord \u2014 but it came as a shock to customers who had been patronizing the market since it opened in 1983.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother sent me here for olive oil and imported pasta and the San Marzano tomatoes when I was a kid. I still come here for mozzarella, the pecorino,\u201d said Anthony Carbone, 54.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like that, a neighborhood institution down the drain,\u201d said Miriam Rosen. Michael Nigro for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really going to miss this place. You can\u2019t replace this kind of history with any supermarket. It just disappears, and a part of your life is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miriam Rosen, 68, said the shutdown was \u201cheartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI only just heard today and I\u2019m in tears,\u201d Rosen added. \u201cJust like that, a neighborhood institution down the drain. I know it happens all the time, but this one really hurts. It\u2019s part of the character of the city, the soul of the city, know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
The grocery has not paid its rent in months, according to court documents. Michael Nigro for NY Post<\/p>\n
But the market has struggled through financial woes for more than a year, according to court documents.<\/a><\/p>\n