New York institution East Village Cheese suddenly shuttered on December 7. NY Magazine said this “cheese fantasia” offered “close to a hundred varieties should satisfy everyone except the pickiest cheese snobs.” They didn’t have the largest selection in the city but they had you covered whether you wanted aged Gouda, Danish Blue Castello, Finnish Lappi or just about anything else.
However, when we say that the place suddenly shuttered, we mean that literally, because all of that cheese was apparently just left out exactly where it was. Neighborhood blog EV Grieve reported that not only has it been empty of employees ever since, but the power was shut off at some point as well. That means that all of that cheese, much of which was just left out on counters, was getting a bit ripe.
https://twitter.com/jeremyblock/status/941372571290886146
The smell of all that ripe cheese has since become so noticeable that neighboring businesses are being affected. One neighboring business owner told the blog that the “gross” stench had overtaking their block and anyone walking by was inundated with the pungent odor of decaying cheese.
“The smell of cheese is seeping into my hat shop, and I am looking for ideas for how to get the place emptied before it rots,” she said. “My biggest concern is that the smell is going to be unbearable pretty soon, and a potential rat problem.”
While the rumors were that the landlord couldn’t enter the shop due to “legal concerns,” someone showed up with a removal truck on Friday and hopefully unloaded all that rotting cheese for someplace far away. There are enough interesting smells wafting through New York City at any given moment. Stinky cheese doesn’t need to be added to the mix.
