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“Going to plan my bach trip to Meadow Lane,” 30-year-old Kirsten Goodman, who lives in Delaware, commented when Nussdorf teased on TikTok (where his username is Brokeback Contessa) that the store will open this month. “This is like my Met Gala,” wrote 20-year-old Zoë Newbold from Connecticut. And 30-year-old Raquel Holiday from Pittsburgh said, “Brb booking a flight.” When asked if she actually planned on visiting and taking a day off work to do so, she said it would depend on how much notice Meadow Lane gave. “I genuinely have been waiting to book my next flight to New York over this opening,” she told Vanity Fair. Meadow Lane will be Nussdorf’s first major opening and marks his official leap into the world of gourmet groceries. Before this chapter, he worked in venture capital for about six years, investing in a range of brands, some food-related. Retail, he tells me, is a completely different challenge though. “I’m honored and humbled that people are this excited for something,” Nussdorf told me when I visited the store at 355 Greenwich Street. “I am super passionate about it, of course,” he added, “but I feel like a lot of people are equally as passionate about it, which is shocking to me.” An upscale grocer focused on natural produce isn’t exactly a new concept, especially for health-conscious shoppers in major cities. There’s Erewhon, the LA staple founded in 1966 by Michio and Aveline Kushi, where $20 can buy you the “Hailey Bieber smoothie” and likely a few extra TikTok followers. Eataly has great authentic Italian produce and pantry staples at its outposts, located in places like New York, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles. And at Butterfield Market on the Upper East Side and Bonberi Mart in the West Village, you can stock up on fruit, vegetables, and prepackaged meals, equally delicious with very New York price tags. But Nussdorf’s timing coincides with a new era of wellness. Functional nutrition is the latest thing for young consumers. From “protein-packed potato chips” to “cognition-enhancing mocktails,” there’s a flurry of new products that target everything from better sleep to gut health, according to McKinsey’s recently released Future of Wellness Survey. The same report says that in the US, UK, and Germany approximately two thirds of Gen Z and millennials say they bought functional-nutrition products last year, and much of what Meadow Lane stocks (matcha from Montauk General Store, speciality oils and vinegars, Sun Elixir juices) sits squarely in that niche. In a September article The New York Times asked “Is Partying Dead, or Are You Just Old?,” prompted by reports that Gen Z “is the only one that has been declared ‘generation stay-at-home.’” Young people pushed back, insisting they do still go out, but that socializing looks different now. And if that’s true, high-end grocery stores may become a new gathering place. Nussdorf hasn’t just clocked that trend, he’s built a destination for it. From the calming minimalist decor (I entered during a rainstorm and instantly felt at ease) to the cavernous ceilings, this isn’t a place you’d want to go in sweatpants. It will likely be the see-and-be-seen destination in Tribeca, its online hype surpassing that of a new nightclub. It’s no coincidence that Nussdorf built the entire brand on TikTok, where he took his followers behind the scenes for recipe tasting, product selections, even his battles with Con Edison (one loyal online supporter said she would write the utility company a letter on his behalf, says Nussdorf). And he didn’t just go viral in the process, he carved out his own niche on the platform, with followers watching his videos in the same way they’d watch a reality TV show. To build his audience, Nussdorf led with humor. “I would say, ‘Welcome to Meadow Lane, the greatest scheme since Elizabeth Holmes and Anna Delvey,’” Nussdorf said, referencing Delvey, who was convicted in 2019 on eight charges related to duping friends and financial institutions while posing as an heiress, and Holmes, who was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on investors in her health-technology company, Theranos. “Because this was delayed so long, people were like, ‘It’s not real, he’s Theranos-ing us.’ A lot of people make content outside, and they’re like, ‘I’m outside the ancient artifact of Meadow Lane.’” Delvey herself even commented “Can’t wait!!” on one of his TikToks. Upon opening, Meadow Lane will stock everything from Osaka Beef Bowls ($27) and imported heart of palm noodles (from Hawaii) to nostalgic classics like chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly pockets. There will be artisanal butter, seasonally rotating fruit, charcuterie, and Volzhenka caviar (the fish are bred hormone-free in the idyllic sanctuary of Greek waters), as well as what Nussdorf calls “The Chicken Salad” ($12). “Who gave you permission?” Nussdorf jokingly asked a tub of the chicken salad in a video captioned “Midnight munchies diaries” that he posted on TikTok in January, reveling in its taste. He called it one of his top five favorite things in Meadow Lane and said in the TikTok that it contains a “flavor blast” of rosemary, leeks, and of course, horseradish. To top it off, Caffè Panna, the ice cream shop with queues longer than Carbone, is also making custom flavors that will only be sold at Meadow Lane. “In the beginning we were reaching out, but no one knew who we were and we didn’t have anything online,” Nussdorf said. “When I started more TikToks and we became more on people’s radars, then they were reaching out and now we haven’t reached out in a long time.” The grocery store will cater to the health enthusiasts who want to know exactly where their berries have been grown, but also to the busy city workers who don’t have time, want to grab something delicious to go, and aren’t going to spiral over the odd seed oil or light spread of mayo. There’s hope to draw in the matcha crowd and the people who want a beautiful, seasonal bouquet to elevate their kitchen (yes, there will be an in-house florist), as well as the shoppers who want to spend on packaged goods like well-designed soy sauce bottles and chocolate in gingham-patterned packaging to spruce up their pantries or surprise a friend. “The ready-to-eat shopper is the gallery worker, the health care worker, the investment banker at Citi down the street who is picking up a salad, a soup, a bowl, and a beverage and bringing it back to their office and eating it right away,” Nussdorf says. “The prepared-food shopper is a Tribeca mom who lives in the ’hood who is going to carry bags’ worth of stuff and do a massive haul, anywhere from like four items to 50.” “I will give you as many hugs as you need if I can be first in line,” an Upper East Side mom of four who posts videos of her daily routines commented. For now, Meadow Lane only follows Nussdorf and Delvey on Instagram. Martha Stewart is Nussdorf’s dream visitor. Bethenny Frankel, the former reality star and home cook, provided such invaluable advice. After Nussdorf gifted her two versions of the chicken salad, Frankel made an “important review” of the delicacy on her Instagram, sharing that she and Nussdorf “knew people in common” but “the Lord’s work is honest,” ultimately rating it a seven out of 10. In response, Nussdorf posted a video of his reaction, laughing and leaning into the criticism. As a result, a mutual friend connected them and soon enough, Nussdorf was on the phone with Frankel. “I honor the seven out of 10; she’s the chicken salad queen,” Nussdorf said, reminiscing on the hilarity of getting that phone call. “She’s like, ‘You need to do this, you need to do that, you gotta get the foundation in order before you fix the drapes.’”
