On Friday, November 14, Meadow Lane, a grocer that sells gourmet prepared foods, opened in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood. In less than 24 hours, people flocked to the grocer to check out foods that rival Erewhon. Influencers and shoppers alike were met with long lines, “hot bouncers,” and snacks while they waited outside to shop the minimalistic style grocery store.
Once inside, many on TikTok who posted about the experience raved about the “Disney-like store” that has a coffee bar, tons of prepared foods, and a picnic basket to carry food in. But, amidst all the positive food reviews, some shoppers have revealed some not-so-fortunate experiences there.
What is Meadow Lane?
Meadow Lane is a prepared food market aimed to provide New Yorkers with grab-and-go foods, beverages, and pastries that gained fame before opening because of the owner, Sammy Nussdorf, known on TikTok as Brokeback Contessa (@brokebackcontessa). He promoted the store before its opening for two years, showing his followers behind the scenes of construction, early taste tests of his products, and even his process to set cafe prices.
Over the past two years, Nussdorf partnered with influencers and celebrities to promote the grand opening. One of the most notable included Steve Madden who was featured on Nussdorf’s page doing a taste test of the gluten free chicken nuggets and Grandma’s secret meatballs.
And even before the opening of the grocery store, Nussdorf was accused by social media users of being a Trump supporter. He addressed this in a video and said he did not vote for Trump and does believe food is political.
What was the controversy once Meadow Lane opened?
Reports of raw chicken nuggets being sold as prepared nuggets and food being mislabeled without disclosing allergens were posted to TikTok. User Sabrina Carey (@fooodforfooodies) was one of the first to realize the chicken nuggets she had bought weren’t cooked. In her video, she cuts into multiple chicken nuggets that appear pink on the inside, a sign of raw or undercooked chicken. Carey isn’t the only one who received raw chicken nuggets, as the comments on her video claimed that at least four others had the same issue.
That’s not the only food safety issue that has come to TikTok either. User Nikki Cooper (@nikk_coop), who is allergic to dairy, had an allergic reaction to the hot turkey chili because dairy wasn’t listed as an allergen or ingredient on the prepared food label. Cooper said in the video that she began to have an airborne allergic reaction to the dairy and was glad she didn’t take a bite of the chili because of her allergy.
On Monday, November 17, the grocer is closed. Owner Nussdorf said in a video posted to TikTok that the store was already planning on being closed but he will be taking the time to address these “unfortunate” experiences. He said he spoke with his culinary team to ensure these food safety issues never happen again. He added that his team backtracked to see what happened, but did not reveal details. The store also may be closed early for some days to ensure high quality experiences.
Both Carey and Cooper have posted updates to their original videos. Apparently, Nussdorf reached out to both, apologized for the situation, and offered both a refund and new products.
In Carey’s video, she had the chicken nuggets again — this time cooked — and said they were some of the best gluten-free nuggets she had. Some of the comments on her video accused her of being paid to create a new video, but she hasn’t addressed whether or not she received compensation.
As for Cooper, she said in an update video that Nussdorf explained the mislabeling occurred because the cold turkey chili is dairy-free, but the prepared hot turkey chili is not. She said he refunded her original purchase and offered her the cold turkey chili for free.
Despite the damage control Nussdorf has done to fix the problems that occurred over the weekend, some New Yorkers are still criticizing the grocer as a whole. A lot of this backlash comes from places of food safety concerns or the concerns of another gourmet grocery store opening amidst federal government cuts to SNAP benefits.
TikToker Sam Kochman (@samkochman) said she’d like to see those who are spending hundreds of dollars at Meadow Lane donate to New York food banks as well. While specific prices of the foods at the deluxe grocery store have not been released online, many Tiktokers spent over $200 on hauls of prepared foods, most of which they used for taste testing.