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Eat & Drink

Behind the scenes at Good Eggs, the locavore’s alternative to Fresh Direct

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  • The former Pfizer building runs the entire length of Flushing Avenue, from Tompkins Street to Marcy Avenue, at the border of Bed-Stuy and Williamsburg.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • When the 660,000-square-foot Pfizer plant closed in 2008, many local jobs were lost.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • The history of the building is apparent when you first enter. The hallway leading to the elevators is lined in photographs of life in the pharmaceutical plant.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • The inside of the Pfizer Building can feel a little
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • A pink and cheerful research room.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • While the insides of the food production facilities upstairs are very Brooklyn circa 2014, some spaces in the building, like this one on the first floor, evoke a very hospital-like vibe.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Brooklyn is once again known as a place for innovation.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • A little bit of Brooklyn found its way onto the inside walls of the building.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Good Eggs moved into the building in 2013 and employs about 40 people.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Located in the center of the Good Eggs office is a computer hub that tracks all the daily deliveries and pick-ups.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Chard is currently available from four different local farms.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • The packing of deliveries is streamlined, and extremely precise. Here, dry good items are in bins sorted by customer. It's
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • The operation is on a tight time-frame. Items need to be in bins by a certain time and packed by a certain time each day, says Zimmer.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Sure We Can to recycle it. And the compost? They drive it up to Fishkill Farms, which is a Good Eggs producer, every week. ” data-id=”19357137″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/18706_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.9357137″/>
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Every day, the team sits down together for lunch that's made in the kitchen by the on-staff chef with the products stocked in the Good Eggs
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Chef Audrey Snyder prepares lunch for the staff four days a week. When we visited she made roast lamb with honey and rosemary and a plethora of vegetable and grain side dishes. She explained how end of summer lamb is different from spring lamb: Lambs grazed on pasture eat grass all summer long so their meat is more flavorful and rich. Spring lambs have consumed mostly milk, resulting in more delicate and sweet meat.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Yes, this bicycle delivers groceries. If you live in Northern Greenpoint, the transit mode on which your groceries are brought to you may be man-powered.
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Like we said, it's a little
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • People’s Pops, natural ice pops made with local and fresh fruits and herbs are also made in the Pfizer building. ” data-id=”19357675″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/24604_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.9357675″/>
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL
  • Mexicue, the popular restaurant that started out with food trucks, has a kitchen operation in the Pfizer building. ” data-id=”19357264″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/24605_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.9357264″/>
    Photo Credit: GEORGIA KRAL

Good Eggs is a home delivery food service that gives customers the ability to order food from more than 175 local producers and farmers: like Fresh Direct, but for customers that want to support local food systems. It was founded in San Francisco and arrived in Brooklyn last year.

The Good Eggs center of operations in Brooklyn is 630 Flushing Ave., aka the old Pfizer building. The factory that once made drugs is now home to artisanal food producers and revolutionary food companies.

While exactly how many orders Good Eggs fills per day is not information Erin Zimmer, Good Eggs community engagement and partnerships manager, could share, demand is high and they have more than 40 employees, she said.

In fact, Good Eggs has grown so much that they are moving out of Pfizer and into their own warehouse space in Bushwick that’s nearly five times larger than where they currently are. The move is slated for next month.

What will they do with all the additional space? Expand, of course.

According to Josh Morgenthau, whose title is City Lead, the plan is to expand to “other boroughs” (he wouldn’t be more specific) with a target date of next spring.

Good Eggs has seemingly tapped into a growing market: busy New Yorkers who want the ease of home delivery but also have the desire to support local farms and small producers. Timing is, as they say, everything.

Before the company expands and moves to Bushwick, here’s a peek inside the old Pfizer building, which has transformed from a sterile pharmaceutical plant to a hub for Brooklyn’s creative up-and-comers.

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