After 100 Years, Brooklyn pork store Esposito & Sons closes its doors

From brooklyneagle.com

EDITORS’ NOTE: In a 2010 interview with The New York Times, owners of the Brooklyn classic Esposito & Sond showed to the press the agility of small business in a developing and rapidly changing Carroll Gardens. Both eggplant parmigiana and heritage staples like soppressata and fresh sausage were offered to its clientele, many of whom owners John and George Esposito know by name. Esposito & Sons was truly a “meat store grandma would love”, as the Times dictated. Eater magazine reported Esposito & Sons’ closing on March 29, citing an indie documentary by local filmmaker Brinda Adhikari in which George Esposito tells the sto- ry of his iconic pork store: “The secret to a business lasting nearly a hundred years is love. Love what you’re doing and put your heart and soul into it,” he said.

CARROLL GARDENS — Esposito & Sons Jersey Pork Store, beloved Italian butcher shop at 357 Court St. in Carroll Gardens, closed on Monday, April 10, after 100 years.

Customers stopped by to say goodbye to third-generation store owners George and John Esposito, have a piece of cake and reminisce about the neighborhood’s Italian American heyday — when families cooked and ate meals at home.

One neighbor told a young woman holding a microphone what the store’s closing meant to her.

“These shops, and especially the pork store, this is Carroll Gardens,” she said, choking back tears.

By mid-afternoon, the sausages, soppressata, escarole pie and meatballs were gone, the pictures were off the walls and the iconic giant pig statue was gone. (It was on wheels.)

“To our patrons, April 10th will be our last day. It’s tough to say goodbye after 100 years,” a sign on the window said. “We thank you for your loyalty. Love, the Espositos.”

In a video of the shop created in 2015 by filmmaker Brinda Adhikari, George Esposito told the filmmaker, “You gotta treat the customers with respect and love. That’s what makes it keep going for the first hundred.”