Fairway

After Zabar's, I was expecting a similar experience at Fairway. Instead, I was met with a much more

typical grocery store experience. Fairway, which competes with Zabar's, features shelves line with food available for purchase. It really didn't have anything that stood out to me right away. In my hometown, the only big grocery store is family owned. This store reminded me a lot of that. Perhaps big chains are different, but I don't have that same point of reference that most other people would, so to me, this all seemed like a standard grocery experience, except for the lighting. The lighting in the store was noticeably dark. It gave the whole store a kind of "low budget" feel.

The store was considerably emptier than Zabar's, which made for an easier to navigate environment. I didn't feel like I was in people's ways when I just stood in a lane, staring at the items on a shelf. Everything was quieter, which suited my tastes a bit more. I noticed a reoccuring theme of "organic" being in the various signs above the food.

I was a little surprised when I found an elevator to the second floor, but I took it anyway.

 The first thing I saw on the second floor was the "organic" drug store. The shelves were lined with far more medication that I had anticipated for such a small corner, and,  as the name would suggest, many of them bore the term "organic" on the bottle somewhere. The shelves impressed me with how neat they were, as if none of the bottles were ever taken from them. The rest of the second floor featured a dining area, which honestly seemed out of place. Nothing about the second floor felt like the first.  It was noisier, with the sounds of speech coming from the dining area to the side. The darker lighting seemed less depressing up here and more romantic instead. True to that impression, I saw at least two couples dining. I can fully understand why it was busier up here, because it just seemed more inviting.

 Fairway had a laid back atmosphere in comparison to Zabar's. I can't say I'd really go out of my way to go to it again, but I did prefer it. The organic thing seemed a little shoved down my throat, but it didn't really bother me enough to be a problem.

Note the "Organic" sign.