On-Demand Grocery Delivery Service Gorillas Leases East Village Space
By Rebecca Baird-Remba September 16, 2021 4:34 pm
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“Dark store” grocery delivery service Gorillas has leased 7,050 square feet for 10 years at 426-430 East 14th Street in the East Village, according to its brokers at RIPCO Real Estate.
Gorillas will occupy 4,800 square feet on the ground floor and 2,250 square feet in the basement of the storefront between First Avenue and Avenue A. Gorillas typically stocks “more than 2,000 essential items at retail prices.” That strategy is part of how it keeps its footprints smaller and its costs lower than a standard supermarket, which typically stocks at least 10,000 different products.
The on-demand grocery delivery company launched in New York City in May after raising $290 million in Series B venture capital funding. The Berlin-based startup promises to deliver groceries to customers in certain New York City neighborhoods in 10 minutes or less.
It accomplishes this lightning-quick task by leasing retail spaces across the city to use as delivery hubs, and employing a crew of delivery workers on pedal-assist bikes and electric scooters. Current delivery areas include Chelsea, East Harlem, the Lower East Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Greenwich Village, the Upper West Side, Boerum Hill, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Long Island City, Queens.
Alex Beard and Estelle Holm Pedersen of RIPCO represented Gorillas in the transaction, while their RIPCO colleagues Richard Skulnik and Lindsay Zegans handled it for the landlord, Meadow Partners.
Two smaller tenants also took 1,700 square feet each in the East 14th Street properties. European Wax Center and Wingstop both signed 10-year leases for ground-floor storefronts at the base of the three conjoined, brick apartment buildings.
“New York City continues to see demand for delivery services and quick service restaurants, and both Gorillas and Wingstop are examples of these industries expanding,” Skulnik said in prepared remarks.
Hal Shapiro of Winick Realty Group represented European Wax Center, and Ryan Feldman of Alliance Retail Development represented Wingstop. A Winick spokesperson didn’t immediately return a request for comment, and Feldman declined to comment.
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
