Aisle Be Back: Fairway Reopens in Red Hook

Hurricane Sandy devestated the East Coast at the end of October last year. In Red Hook, the storm left five feet of seawater inside Fairway and destroyed everything therein. The only option was to throw it all out and start from scratch. Seventy dumpster loads, over $20 million in repairs and damaged inventory, and four months to the day later, the 50,000 square foot grocery has reopened. On Friday last week, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Chuck Schumer, Miss America, and St. John Frizell (owner of Fort Defiance a few blocks away) were among those celebrating the store's return. We made it to Van Brunt later in the afternoon. Here's a look around the new and improved Fairway.

The Now Open sign reads "Established 2006 - Devastated 2012 - Reborn 2013 Brooklyn Strong(er)"

A customer makes their way in.

Like before, a line of produce walls the front, outside wall of the store.

A frenzy of carts and customers.

Fresh new produce is piled high.

The impressive cheese counter.

One of the aisles - clean and pristine.

The fish and protein counters swapped sides.

The back stretch of the store has been shifted around a bit to make room for a larger bakery, a cafe, and new coffee and olive oil sections.

The new olive oil section.

The new coffee section boasts nearly 100 bean varietals from around the world.

Everything in the store is brand new and free of mold and bacteria, except these.

After Hurricane Sandy, the entire store was gutted and striped down, leaving behind a skeleton structure of brick framework and wooden pillars. Everything in the store is brand new, and the reopening marks the return of 350 jobs to the neighborhood. To think an entire 50,000 square-foot grocery store could be built in just four months shows a business that lives up to its slogan: "Like No Other Market."