The supermarket you shop at is a choice as personal as how you take your morning coffee — which is why it’s pretty devastating when your favorite grocery store closes dozens of locations. Among a long list of forgotten grocery stores that should still exist today is one that might be close to your heart if you lived in New York in the 1970s or earlier: Bohack. The Queens-based neighborhood grocery chain, which opened on iconic Fulton Street in Brooklyn back in 1887, was beloved for its friendly staff and store policies. But even its long-standing history and customer loyalty weren’t enough to help Bohack survive the economic challenges of the 70’s.
The family shop started by German-American immigrant, H.C. Bohack, went public in 1965, years after Bohack’s death in 1931, when it was sold by his family to Charles Bluedorn. While Bluedorn’s business portfolio and stake in the businesses offered promise to the fate of Bohack, the two recessions and stagflation (the slow economic growth and steep costs) of the 70s had other plans for the grocery chain. In July 1974, The New York Times reported that Bohack had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with the company stating operational losses “as a result of high interest costs, shortage of working capital, and inability to obtain sufficient credit and merchandise.” In 1977, after operating under bankruptcy and shuttering several locations, the chain went out of business.
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Bohack’s was more than just a place to buy groceries
View of outside of Bohack New York grocery store – Russell Curley / Facebook
The New York grocery chain with over 70 years in business meant more to the public beyond its delicious bakery items and “Bohack’s Best” store brand products. It was a staple in the community. In a “Long Island’s South Shore History” Facebook post, one person shared a back-and-white picture of a Bohack grocery store. The post solicited a long line of nostalgic comments from others who too fondly remembered store locations across New York in places like Babylon Village, Seaford, and Bellmore.
“Back in the 1920s, when these stores were small markets … My father remembers that when Mr. Bohack was visiting a store in Greenport, the rumor would get around that, ‘Old Man Bohack is in town,'” someone wrote. Another person shared, “As everyone only had one car, we would walk to Bohack with the long carriage for the baby. On the way home, my mother would put the groceries in the carriage and carry the baby home!”
While today, the community discussion around Bohack’s looks far different than in the years leading up to the chain’s closure in the late 70’s, the memory of the store still remains, indicating its importance in all the lives it touched back in the day. There’s even a Facebook group specifically intended to preserve the store’s memory. Even the best NYC gourmet grocery stores and local shops around today just can’t replace what Bohack’s meant to the neighborhoods it graced.
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Read the original article on Tasting Table.
