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The grapes of ralph: Whole lot of illicit munching at Whole Foods

BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Who’s eating Gilbert’s grapes???

Some shoppers have been getting busy with the grapes at the Whole Foods Market on East Houston Street, known as the chain’s “Bowery” store.

It’s been raisin’ the ire of another local shopper.

On Feb. 10, a Village Sun reader, posted behind a nearby pile of grapefruits, clandestinely videoed a woman sampling and munching different kinds of grapes from various bags. His video went on for 2 minutes — though the moocher could have been at it for longer, since when he first noticed her, she was already in the thick of her grapes grazing.

“Yeah, she was grabbing green and red grapes, and I love how casual she was!” said the video taker, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, Joe Fensterblau, an homage to Ralph Kramden’s co-worker in “The Honeymooners.”

“The key is when you see bags that are only filled halfway or less and plenty of stems with no grapes,” he noted. “The Whole Foods folks fill those bags to the brim. I pull the bags from way in the back of the shelf, further than she can reach.”

More recently, on April 6, the reader caught another “grape nut” doing some sort of Three Card Monte switcheroo, unpacking grapes from their bags and mixing and matching them.

“There’s more hands on those grapes than when they were picked,” Fensterblau quipped.

How about a “No Grape Mooching” sign, too? (Photo by Joe Fensterblau)

Noting the Whole Foods store’s prominently displayed “No Firearms” sign, the videoer suggested that it add another one declaring, “No Grape Mooching.”

3 Comments

  1. sam sam April 13, 2024

    Whole Food shoppers also take food — typically prepared food — to give their dogs “snacks.”
    Not OK.
    Not to mention dogs not permitted in food.
    The entitlement is astounding.

  2. DuchessofNYC DuchessofNYC April 13, 2024

    This is news? I sometimes remove grapes from the bag ’cause I can’t afford to buy a full bag, and I sometimes mix green and red grapes in that bag for variety. So sue me!

    • The Village Sun The Village Sun Post author | April 13, 2024

      Yes, but while you’re doing that, do you stand there for 2 minutes munching on grapes from multiple individual bags?

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