Grand Street's Diller Latest Casualty of the Lower East Side's Pickle War
But the pickle wars have changed.
Rest in peace Diller, the humble and beloved pickle themed restaurant, whose last day was November 12th. Diller, just a couple of feet off Essex at 357 Grand St, had been in business since the summer of 2019.
Diller was a project from The Pickle Guys, the Lower East Side's preeminent pickle provider. Yet here I was thinking for as long as I did that there just happened to be two neighboring pickle places competing against each other.
Once home to more than 80 pickle vendors alone in the early 20th century, Essex Street is now home to no more than two such establishments, one on Grand Street and the other inside Essex Market. Both are The Pickle Guys locations.
In fact, other than bookstore Sweet Pickle Books, doesn’t seem like there is any other establishment focused on selling pickles.
But the pickle wars have changed. It's no longer pickle store vs pickle store as pickle establishments face new headwinds as rents climb, fierce new competition settles in, and unfavorable demographic changes take hold in the neighborhood.