Another small local business can’t survive the raising rents. Twenty-three years ago, Grace Iwuc opened the Polish G.I. Delicatessen mini market at 109 Frist Ave., between E. Sixth and Seventh Sts.
The small space carried a wide variety of imported Polish groceries, deli meats and cheeses, pastries, breads and buns, as well as tasty home-cooked cabbage rolls, soups, chicken cutlets, sausage and fish. David Cohen joined her team 10 years ago.
G.I., which closed at the end of June, was almost the last of what was once an abundance of local Polish food retail businesses in the East Village. Gone are most of the Polish restaurants and meat markets as the community continues to go corporate and retail business goes more high-end.
