America”™s oldest cheese shop, which opened in the Little Italy section of Manhattan in 1892, is closing on March 5 after falling behind on its rent during the pandemic.
According to a New York Post report, Alleva Dairy began to have difficult meeting its $23,756 monthly rent payments when the pandemic took root in early 2020 and was never able to find solid financial footing. In April 2022, the landlord Jerome G. Stabile III Realty sought court permission to evict the store. The landlord and the store eventually reached an agreement that the store”™s debt would be forgiven after vacating its space next month.
“After a remarkable 130 years, my beloved Alleva Dairy will no longer be on the corner of Mulberry and Grand Street in Little Italy, New York,” said owner Karen King. “My store is the oldest cheese shop in America and the heartbeat of Little Italy. We”™re a New York institution.”
Photo courtesy of Alleva Dairy
