Bronx specialty food wholesaler Baldor has opened its pantry to the public for the first time, but it will make a dent in your wallet.
The company is offering delivery to New Yorkers stranded at home by the coronavirus — with everything from milk to Spanish tenderized octopus on the menu — with a minimum order of $250.
The company says it has more than 6,000 items sitting in its warehouse after losing about half of its business due to the COVID-19 bug and a statewide lockdown that shuttered Big Apple eateries.
And it has a fleet of 400 trucks to get the goods out the door, Forbes magazine reported.
“We’re perfectly poised to jump in and support where we’re needed,” the company’s vice president of sales, Ben Walker, told Forbes. “Food service has really come to a halt. We have the food and we have the logistics. We’re able to get the food out there.”
Baldor launched the home delivery service Monday, urging residents to “restock the shelves” on their website, starting with staples like dairy, meat, and pasta.
The $250 minimum is for deliveries within a 50-mile radius of the Bronx.
But individual prices are easier to digest, like a half-gallon of whole milk for $1.69, a dozen eggs for $3.99, and a 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes for $2.99.
“We want to get that food out into the public,” Walker said. “Dire times call for dire measures.”
Founded in 1946, Baldor started out as Balducci’s fruit stand in Greenwich Village, Forbes said. Today it supplies some of the top restaurants in the five boroughs with fresh goods.
The company says it has never closed its doors and has gotten food out during tough times like 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy.