“I’m so hungry and so cold,” a bundled-up young woman told The Post through chattering teeth, as she waited for food in frigid temperatures early Friday morning.
The New Yorker was one of hundreds who’d made the rush hour trek to TriBeCa for sustenance — standing in a long line that stretched back an entire city block.
The eager hordes were awaiting the 11 a.m. opening of Meadow Lane, a hotly-anticipated gourmet grocer from TikTokker Sammy Nussdorf at 355 Greenwich St. — and their eyes were on $15 orders of organic chicken nuggets, $16 helpings of bone broth, and trendy matcha lattes.
Amid an affordability crisis that helped to propel Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to Mayoral victory and recent anxiety over SNAP benefit cuts, Meadow Lane’s grand debut Friday morning might have seemed like unfortunate timing.
But the buzz online, where many of the 28-year-old Nussdorf’s opening updates have gone viral, and outside the swank new store proved the opposite — appetites for eye-wateringly expensive foods in the Big Apple are bigger than ever.
“I feel like we got a golden ticket!” one excited shopper who snagged a spot at the front of the line exclaimed, referencing Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”‘
Waiting for them inside weren’t Wonka Bars and Everlasting Gobstoppers, but other items that were just as fantastical — and fantastically priced, sometimes enough to make other upscale Uptown spots like Zabar’s or Agata & Valentina blush.
Among them: $14 tortilla chips, $12 bunches of grapes, $65 extra virgin olive oil “harvested from 150-year-old trees,” $74 containers of Montauk General matcha powder, and $625 Siberian caviar.
Many Meadow Lane products can be bought for lower costs at less glamorous locations.
The Maldon sea salt flakes that retail for $10 at Meadow Lane can be snapped up for $6 or $7 almost anywhere else, while a $10, 6 oz. clamshell of Driscoll’s blackberries can often be picked up at a bodega on sale for about a quarter of the price.
But those in line outside Meadow Lane weren’t looking for a bargain, and came ready to blow hundreds of dollars — more than many New Yorkers spend each month on groceries.
Call it a tale of two cities.
“We love food, and we spend money on it,” shopper Isabella Newnam, 26, told The Post. “That’s New York for you. If you want to do something, you do it big.”
Others concurred, saying that with the skyrocketing cost of even ordinary groceries, which they derided as tasteless and loaded with chemicals, it was worth spending more for the good stuff.
“In New York City, the price of regular things is crazy,” Joy Papazian, 22, said. “Even milk. The cost of everything has gone up.”
“I’d rather get a little bit better quality and a better taste and healthier feel and spend a couple extra dollars,” Brittany Blum, 24, chimed in.
Other Gen Z customers told The Post that food was currently the one thing on which they were willing to spare no expense.
“If you asked me to buy a sweater for $150, no — but if you asked me to spend $150 on snacks, absolutely,” Mary Laitan, 26, explained.
Customers who came for the opening said they were most excited for grab-and-go food items, including a $21 Chinese chicken salad and the $24 miso salmon bowl.
Nussdorf, the Willy Wonka of Meadow Lane, has been meticulously documenting the creation and construction of his store on TikTok for more than a year.
Many of his videos, in which he taste tests items for purchase, have gone viral — transforming him into a minor celebrity and the store into a major destination.
The Manhattan native told The Post the idea for Meadow Lane came after the disappearance of the high-end Dean & DeLuca from the NYC retail landscape years ago.
His new store has already earned comparisons to uber-expensive Erewhon in Los Angeles, as well as the celeb-fave Round Swamp Farm in the Hamptons.
Excited customers began lining up at 5 a.m., and a pair of handsome doormen handed out hats emblazoned with the Meadlow Lane logo to those who had shown up early.
People waiting told The Post they had seen Nussdorf’s content — and were curious about how the food items would taste.
It felt less like the opening of a store, and more like a street party. One called it “Christmas,” another described it as “Coronation Day.”
Once inside, the shoppers weren’t disappointed.
The gorgeous interiors feel more like the set of a Nancy Meyers movie than an actual grocery store. Vases of fresh flowers dot the space, and the food items are so delicately displayed that they look like art pieces.
The shoppers perused the pricey produce and prepared sandwich and soup options with the elegance of someone shopping at Chanel or Cartier.
Advertising account manager Sydney Savage, 22, dropped more than $260 on less than two dozen items. She said she’d happily return.
“I’ve had the turkey chili ($10) and the blue Masa tortilla chips ($14),” she enthused. “Not exaggerating, it was amazing and a 10/10. So good and fresh.”
Meanwhile, The Post tried the hyped $15 chicken nuggets, which were surprisingly crispy and delicious. A $14 salmon sandwich and a $15 watermelon juice were less impressive.
Despite the elevated interiors and the even more elevated price tags, Nussdorf insists Meadow Lane is for everyone.
He cites the low-priced coffee ($4) and pastries, hoping the store transforms from TikTok curiosity to neighborhood staple.
“It really is for everyone,” he declared.
Everyone with cash to burn, anyway.
