Gourmet Glatt recovering from fire, Seasons pitches in to help

At 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Mayer Gold, the owner of Seasons kosher supermarket in Cedarhurst, received a call from Moshe Ratner, the general manager of Gourmet Glatt Emporium, informing him of a fire at Gourmet Glatt, with deliveries that needed a place to go. Without hesitation Gold jumped in to help. Glatt’s deliveries went to Seasons and nearly 20 Gourmet Glatt employees are currently working at Seasons, alongside Seasons’ employees and Seasons will remain open to midnight Thursday to accommodate shoppers.

“Though we are competition, we are friends,” said Gold, who added that Gourmet Glatt did the same thing earlier this year when a day before Gold’s Queens store was to open in April, it too had a fire which investigators deemed as arson, and Gourmet Glatt assisted in taking in food from Seasons.

Having the purple-shirted Seasons employees working side-by-side with the green-shirted Glatt staffers is a sight to see, Gold noted. “We are very happy to help, they are good people,” he said, referring to Gourmet Glatt’s owners, managers and employees.

Only a competitor in the same industry could understand what you go through, said Joel Steinberg, a general manager at Gourmet Glatt, who added that Seasons help is greatly appreciated. “It brings great merit to both, it’s an inspiration, he said, noting that there are Gourmet Glatt shopping carts at Seasons in addition to the visiting employees.

The early morning fire caused extensive damage to the basement of Gourmet Glatt, at 137 Spruce Street, according to Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department Chief Joseph Sperber. The fire was declared under control withi a half hour, Sperber said.

The fire began between a food preparation area and a refrigeration unit in the store’s basement, said Sperber, who noted that the store’s sprinkler system was also activated by the fire. Two employees at work at the time suffered smoke inhalation, but were treated at the scene.

The Nassau County Fire Marshal deemed the fire not suspicious and accidental. The cause is still under investigation, but preliminary indications point to an electrical fire. The damage is expected to keep Gourmet Glatt closed for “an extended period of time,” Sperber said.