BESPOKE: A MEETING WITH WHOLE FOODS

The Harlem Park to Park organization does an amazing job representing all of the retailers alongside with the restaurants uptown and have teamed up with Whole Foods to help select local businesses to be sold at the new 125th Street store currently under construction.  HPP visited Sugar Hill Market a couple of weekends ago and informed some of the local artisans on how to sign up to be selected for the new store at the corner of Lenox Avenue.  Many of the merchants made it to the first round of interviews during the Harlem Harvest Festival this past Saturday and we ran into Royal Jelly as they waited to be reviewed.

Royal Jelly is a sportswear line founded by Harlem designer Maya Gargoni who just happened to go into labor with her first child just 24 hours before the appointment.  Luckily enough, the business is all in the family and the new mother's mom showed up with her brother-in-law to present the home furnishing elements of their lifestyle collection.  Everything actually went well with all of the merchants we talked to this weekend after the interviews and uptowners might just be able to see quite a few familiar Harlem brands within Whole Foods in the coming year when the supermarket finally opens