As you might have gathered from last month’s post on their astoundingly high-tech new pickle jars, Grillo’s is a pretty prominent player among pickle purveyors. It wasn’t always that way, however. The company’s humble beginnings include a 2009 pickle cart used to sell their wares near Boston’s Park Street subway station (2 spears for a buck). Sales from that goofy cart were good enough that the company eventually opened a retail storefront in Cambridge.
At the time, I remember thinking “Weird. A pickle store?” How wrong I was. That retail space had a successful multi-year run, and though it has since closed, the brand can now be found in grocery stores across the country.
On a recent visit to New York City with his family, friend-of-the-site Scott S. came across Grillo’s in the Big Apple. After returning home, he sent me this image:
[Photo credit: Scott S.]
He also replayed the conversation he had at the time:
Me, to my family: Oh, that’s funny, I was just catching up on my friend Paul’s blog and he had a whole thing about their containers. They’re just about to change them because the old jars were… guys? Where did you go?
I told Scott that if he really wanted to entertain his family, he should tell them about the company’s very necessary lawsuits against competitors Patriot Pickle. Working with those perfidious Wahlbergs, the company has misled customers about the presence of preservatives in their products, and possibly even stolen the century-old Grillo’s family recipe. Treachery abounds!
But let us focus on happier things. Scott’s message alerted me to the existence of a Grillo’s Pickles pop-up in New York City. My guess was that it was in Lower Manhattan, and once I found the exact address, I confirmed that it was extremely close to the residence of my pal Matt. I immediately texted my good friend about it, certain he would be game for some nonsense. He didn’t let me down. Mere minutes after my first text about the pop-up, Matt was there and sharing this photo with me:
[Photo credit: Matt]
Instantly, my eye was drawn to the lower right. Fortunately, Matt had sent this as a Live Photo, which showed a pickle ride in all its splendor:
You can probably already guess where this went:
Matt certainly saw my request coming, as his negative reply came back before he’d even had a chance to read it. I stand by what I said, and add that a pickle ride would make a perfect dating profile pic.
While Matt sent me pictures of the store’s ridiculous collection of pickle-related merch, I continued to urge him to mount that pickle. You only get one shot at life, and when you’re offered a mechanical pickle to ride, you must hop on.
Finally, after much cajoling, Matt provided this:
[Photo credit: Anonymous 20-something woman]
Part of the delay was caused by a trio of young women conducting an extensive photo shoot, replete with a wide variety of poses. When it was finally his turn, Matt went with a pose he referred to as “Shameful Pickle”. Outstanding.
I’m absolutely pickled tink with these shenanigans, and I’m thankful for the help of two different friends. I hope you enjoyed it all as well. If you’re in the New York City area, consider this your invitation to take your own free pickle ride. Hustle over to 2 Rivington Street just as quick as you can, though, because you’ve only got one more day.
