So, you say Bed-Stuy’s a food desert? Well, here’s some good news:
The Crown Fried Chicken on Fulton Street between Marcy Ave and Verona Pl has closed, and in its place an Edible Arrangements store has opened.
Edible Arrangements is the wildly popular specialty fruit shop known for its elaborate gift baskets inspired by flower bouquets made from fresh fruits, chocolates and other tasty toppings.
The Bed-Stuy location, located at 1357 Fulton Street, opened December 17, making it the ninth store for this franchise in Brooklyn.
“It’s been a great experience working around here, we get all types of people,” said Ketty Duval, manager at Edible Arrangements. “[The owners] have been trying to open in Bedford-Stuyvesant for over a year. Finally they found this location, and they were very excited.”
The fruit baskets—usually made of strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple, orange slices and grapes dipped in white and/or semi-sweet chocolate or coconut— range in cost from $35 - $155 and come in about 20 different varieties for almost every occasion imaginable, including “Get Well,” “Congratulations,” “Farewell,” or “I Love You.”
But the store also sells smoothies, boxed gourmet chocolate-dipped fruit and individual hand-dipped fruit snacks, for $2 - $5, for walk-in customers seeking a healthy sweet snack.
Duval said, so far, the most popular-selling items have been the fruit smoothies, the individual chocolate-covered strawberries and the confetti cupcake fruit baskets which are often purchased for birthdays.
“My favorite?” said Duval, laughing. “I just really like to eat the plain fruit. I don’t like strawberries too much, but I love cantaloupe and pineapple.”
Edible Arrangements is open Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
To place an order, call 718-622-3344. According to Duval, the store takes same-day orders and makes deliveries until 6:00 p.m. They are still deciding their hours for Sunday.
“We want to welcome everyone. I promise we have something here for everyone,” said Duval.
