NYC Is Dying, Until You See the $15 Chicken Nugget Line
What new super luxe grocer Meadow Lane reveals about our affordability crisis
Depending on your audience, NYC is either a crime-ridden dystopia or suffering from an affordability crisis. Almost nobody says the city I’ve called home for the past 12 years is doing great.
Those people haven’t seen what’s going on at Meadow Lane.
The new super luxe grocery store in Tribeca, where a few chicken nuggets cost $15, has experienced such unexpected demand during its first week, they’ve at times run out of food.
The same city that just elected a Democratic Socialist mayor who ran on a platform of affordability is stampeding the doors of a new luxury grocery store.
Meadow Lane has exposed the U.S. consumer disconnect between reality and sentiment. New York City can feel very unaffordable when people compare themselves to the phantom “rich” in their social media feeds. But consumers are clearly healthy enough to stand in line for hours for the privilege of buying some of the following menu items Meadow Lane offers:
Grapes (one bunch) - $12
Tortilla chips - $14
Watermelon juice - $15
Chicken nuggets - $15
Miso salmon bowl - $24
Olive oil - $65
Siberian caviar - $625
So why are so many New Yorkers and visitors lining up — at times for hours — just to get inside an expensive new grocery store?
Is it further evidence of a tale of two cities? Maybe rich Tribeca residents are just crazy about their new local luxe grocer.
No. It’s indicative of something else.
Many New Yorkers are doing better than they think.
Why do I think this?
Social media. News. Populist politicians on the left and right. They’ve all pushed the affordability issue hard since 2022 because it has political currency.
Meanwhile, the U.S. stock market has surged (ignoring the tariff tantrum and the past couple of days), unemployment has remained relatively low, and real wage growth has increased.
There is an affordability crisis, but to a degree that’s lower than what people think. Yes, rent is obscene in NYC and elsewhere, but there are countervailing obscenities too: not being able to get dinner reservations at even mid-tier restaurants in Manhattan. Not being able to purchase Nutcracker or other performance tickets at Lincoln Center because almost every reasonable child-friendly time is sold out.
And of course, not being able to walk into a new luxury grocery store unless you have an hour to kill waiting.
Something doesn’t add up here.
I’ve walked by Meadow Lane twice over the past few days because I live in the neighborhood, and it’s been consistently busy at different times of the day even during the workweek.
A few theories on what’s really going on:
The U.S. consumer and New Yorkers in particular are not hurting as much as we’re led to believe.
Social media has made people feel poorer than they are relative to the “rich” people they see on their algorithmic feeds — few people share the unglamorous parts of their lives, with many emphasizing vacations, big purchases, experiences, etc. So when asked, many people likely respond that they feel poor, but it’s all relative.
Consumers are willing to splurge on a new luxury grocery store because it’s a fun experience in a beautiful, elegant setting, and not everyone is buying the $625 caviar. But they are willing to buy those $15 chicken nuggets because not only do they get the food, they get the luxury experience.
People also get social media shine time. Meadow Lane has branded shopping bags with bright blue and white checkered patterns. They signal in the wild and on social media — “I’m on trend.” “I’m cultured.” “I’m cool.” Just as the $20 technicolored smoothies at Erewhon in Los Angeles send a certain message.
Meadow Lane and Erewhon are not just for the top 1% of the socioeconomic ladder. Dive into Meadow Lane TikTok if you dare and you will see all types of people reviewing their “haul videos.” Walk past the store during the day — even during the week — and you will see all sorts of people standing in line.
Young, old. Men, women. Business casual to very casual.
Meadow Lane has simply tapped into something that Erewhon discovered a few years ago — the feeling of consumer luxury and unattainable wellness has incredible value. If that means splurging on a few chicken nuggets, juices, and $16 bone broth just to feel luxurious for a few minutes and maybe even broadcast that feeling on social media, then maybe it’s all worth it.
And if you’re already struggling to make rent or pay other bills, an extra $15 purchase won’t make a huge difference.
Meadow Lane is the type of escapism experience that many people crave, especially when they might be struggling. For a few minutes they can taste luxury in a chic setting. They can feel like Hailey Bieber drinking her signature Erewhon smoothie.
But it does raise questions about our relationship with food, social media, and luxury experiences. Not to mention our own perceptions of affordability.
What’s real and what’s manufactured for our consumption to make us feel certain emotions? The same way the Meadow Lane shopping bag makes us feel like part of the “in tribe.”
Maybe the real affordability crisis is less economic, more psychological. And maybe that line at Meadow Lane isn’t about chicken nuggets at all.
It’s about buying the feeling of being the kind of New Yorker who can afford them.
Below are a couple of Instagram Reels I made after walking by Meadow Lane.
People love their chicken. This reminds me of when the new Chick-fil-A opened in my area. It has a two-lane drive-through, and that drive-through was backed up about a mile all the way back to the highway for Chick-fil-A. I don't get it.
But all I can say is it must be nice to have that kind of disposable income that you can shop at such a high-end, frou-frou grocery store.
A tale of 2 cities :)
Here is what I think: the people waiting in line at Meadow Lane might genuinely be doing okay financially. But the people who CAN'T afford to wait in line for hours (because they're working multiple jobs, caring for family, etc.) aren't visible in this story.
I will give you another example. Trinidad has a 10% unemployment rate. But carnival is in 3 months, and you would never believe this to be true.
I actually had conversations with people who are unemployed, and this is what I got: when people can't afford homes or financial security, they redirect that desire toward microbursts of luxury.
Meadow Lane's success doesn't mean the affordability crisis is overstated. It means there's a subset of people with disposable income and time who are willing to spend it on status signaling. That's always been true in NYC as it is in Trinidad.
Just my 2 cents, John.