86th Street’s Meats Supreme To Close Tomorrow After Decades In Bensonhurst

Meats Supreme's Bensonhurst location, which is closing tomorrow. Photo by Hannah Frishberg
Meats Supreme’s Bensonhurst location, which is closing tomorrow. Photo by Hannah Frishberg

Local grocer and butcher Meats Supreme will be closing shop in Bensonhurst for good following tomorrow’s hours after many decades in the neighborhood.

“Between this and the Carvel on Bath Avenue being sold, my neighborhood will never be the same,” an area resident bemoaned via email on the meat market’s closing.

Despite tomorrow being Meats Supreme's last day in business in Bensonhurst, the shelves were fully stocked. Photo by Hannah Frishberg
Despite tomorrow being Meats Supreme’s last day in business in Bensonhurst, the shelves were fully stocked. Photo by Hannah Frishberg

Meats Supreme’s Bensonhurst location at 2229 86th Street is a longtime neighborhood landmark, one of four branches of the gourmet market and catering chain. The other three locations are in Mill Basin, Gravesend, and a second Bensonhurst branch at 1949 86th Street. According to employees, the other stores will remain open with normal hours. “Hopefully it’ll be better,” an employee at the Gravesend branch said with a laugh, regarding how the Bensonhurst’s branch closure will impact his customers.

A landmark southern Brooklyn grocery store, Meats Supreme has been in the borough since 1951. Their slogan is “Where Brooklyn Goes to Shop”. In addition to their eponymous meat section, their stores also features a deli, grocery department, and a bakery.

A sign posted on the front door. Photo by Hanna Frishberg
A sign posted on the front door. Photo by Hannah Frishberg

“This neighborhood has changed,” area resident and Meats Supreme customer Raymond Rooney said of the store’s closing, shaking his head.

In all caps, a sign outside the store, which is located under the elevated subway on a street dense with other, largely Asian, supermarkets, thanks its patrons for their years of service and announces the closing date as Saturday, October 15. According to a store employee, the sign was put up earlier this month.

Why the Bensonhust branch of Meats Supreme is closing is unclear, and employees and managers claimed to not know why.