Image of Roosevelt Island Wholesome Factory Main Street Storefront At Night
Roosevelt Island resident Stuart commenting on the What’s On Your Roosevelt Island Mind post reported:
CONSUMER ALERT! As much as we enjoy the presence of Wholesome Factory on RI, be warned that many of the products they sell are past the “best by” date. Check all diary products you purchase.
which drew this response in agreement from Heather, a disappointed resident and ex-customer
My husband bought a sandwich (one of the ones pre-wrapped in cellophane) from Wholsome Factory and it had fungus on it! Disappointing– we were excited to have a new deli/grocery store, but we definitely aren’t buying there anymore. I’m attaching pics.
Thanks for your post. A day after I saw the outdated dairy products (I did alert the cashier, who thanked me and said she’d have them removed) I went in to check and they were still there! I then spot checked some of the cans and jars on the shelves and several of them were also outdated. I want to support them (even if they’re a bit expensive) but will check everything carefully. And I will not purchase anything from the deli counter after seeing your photo. Thanks.
and a suggestion from Cheshire Kitty to:
Definitely call 311 and report the unsafe food purchase. Get a tracking number for your complaint and follow up – demand to have a food inspector visit the premises. They will shut them down if necessary. It may take a few minutes to file the complaint, but it is worth it as a service to fellow consumers. Just have all the information available – which you can get from the receipt, address & phone number of the store, time and day of purchase of the sandwich. Probably the photos can be relayed to the Board of Health/whatever regulatory agency will handle your complaint as well.
Thanks for alerting us to the unsafe conditions at Wholesome Factory.
Westviewer adds yesterday:
I was happy to see D’Artagnan chicken at Wholesome Factory and bought a pack of chicken thighs yesterday, with a use by date of March 5. One bite and we had to throw out the rest. Somehow it’s not surprising; the more things change, the more they stay the same. The Roosevelt Island rule still applies: chances are that whatever we have here is the worst of its kind.
On a positive note, Gristede’s was selling Plugra butter for $2.99 a half pound, similar in price to other stores. On the other hand, even though in honor of St. Patrick’s Day Kerrygold butter was $3.99 (Trader Joe sells it for $3.19) it was still on the shelf next to cheese, where it will pick up cheesy flavors, and not with the other butters.
I can’t understand why Gristede’s management doesn’t understand that if their prices were better (i.e., comparable to other stores) they would SELL more and MAKE MORE MONEY from their R.I. location, especially considering the sweetheart rent.
I was surprised to hear these reports about Wholesome Factory. I don’t shop there often but have had their pizza and counter sandwiches which I found to be very good.
What do you think?
UPDATE 3/18 – Stuart reports:
Update on the Wholesome Factory: I checked out the store the other day and observed that they had removed almost 50% of the meats and cheeses from the front display, and the dairy products were now in date. I can’t report on the sandwiches (mold-wise) as I didn’t have any. However, it is encouraging to see they read this blog! 🙂
