NEW YORK & SAN DIEGO– Grace’s Marketplace, the landmark European-style neighborhood market in New York City, now offers online delivery through Mercato, the online grocery e-commerce platform for independently owned grocery and specialty food stores.
Grace’s Marketplace, which has become an institution in New York’s Upper East Side, with a second location in Greenvale, New York, will offer same-day delivery of globally sourced gourmet products, fresh produce, premium seafood and meats, party trays, and 150 prepared recipes handed down through the Doria family. The Dorias have been in the grocery business since 1916, when Louis Balducci, the family patriarch, founded the iconic Balducci’s Produce Market. Grace Balducci Doria, her husband Joe, and her father Louis Balducci were the first family in New York City to introduce what we know today as the modern grocery market with produce, pantry staples, butcher and fish shop in one store location.
Grace’s grandson, Daniel Soares, says that going online is a natural progression for the market. “It’s central to our history to find new ways to provide New Yorkers with our carefully curated menu of old-world style ingredients and recipes. We found that large providers such as Instacart and Amazon weren’t the right fit for the Grace’s Marketplace brand, which has always focused on high-touch customer service and same-day freshness.”
“We were looking for an online partner that cared about quality and service as much as we did, and also provided the e-commerce tools we needed to offer delivery of prepared foods and our vast inventory of hard-to-find, curated items. Mercato checked all the boxes,” says Soares. “Mercato understands our need to replicate, as close as possible, the in-store experience and quickly deliver hand-selected items to our valued customers throughout New York City.”
New Yorkers can elect to visit Mercato.com for on-demand, same-day delivery from Grace’s Marketplace and hundreds of other merchants in their area, or they can sign up for one of Mercato’s two Mercato Green membership plans for a deep discount on unlimited, same-day deliveries from their favorite neighborhood grocers. Mercato’s Neighborhood plan covers deliveries up to three miles from the store and is $8/month or $96/year, and the City plan covers up to 10 miles and is $19/month or $228/year. Both plans come with a 30-day free trial and Mercato plants a tree for every order placed by a Mercato Green member.
“This business is close to my heart because I grew up helping out in my dad’s small grocery store in Brooklyn. Independent, main-street retailers like Grace’s Marketplace and my dad’s shop empower neighborhoods with history, economic growth, and community connection. Unlike Amazon, Mercato offers deliveries that are hand-packed by the grocers themselves, with special attention given to quality, freshness, and customer service,” says Mercato Founder and CEO Bobby Brannigan. “We’re honored to add Grace’s Marketplace – a beloved and iconic independent New York market – to the Mercato marketplace.”
Mercato.com provides an online storefront for independent grocers to list their goods, and consumers to conveniently order fresh foods and pantry staples from stores in their community. Consumers can either have their orders delivered to their doorstep or have them available for pick up, typically within an hour or two. This saves consumers time, while supporting local, independent businesses where they live. Mercato’s delivery network is powered by DoorDash, the leading on-demand food platform, fulfills the majority of Mercato’s grocery delivery orders from over 800 independent grocers, bringing low-cost, on-demand delivery to shoppers nationwide.
About Mercato
Mercato offers e-commerce and same-day delivery of high-quality groceries and specialty foods from more than 800 independently owned stores across the country. Bobby Brannigan, an entrepreneur who grew up working in his father’s grocery store in Brooklyn, NY, created Mercato to level the playing field by bringing online shopping and delivery to independent grocers and their valued customers. For more information, visit Mercato.com. Follow us on Instagram.
