Mushtari Hardware & Garden — Local services in New York

I shop in this store frequently. It has good and not so good points. It was better years ago. Nevertheless, it's still an asset. Their focus has shifted to the garden aspect. Folks, (and Mushtari if you're reading), every single person in the nabe needs a hardware store, most of us once a week or more. How many of us have gardens? Almost none. The entire ground floor is now garden stuff, with the lowly hardware shoved in the stinky basement. Yeah, plants are sexier than plumbing, but I wonder if they've minimized their most important and loyal clientele, and if it's affected business. The store is not as full as it was years ago, and the hours keep shrinking due to "slow times". I have a garden, but I don't shop at Mushtari. I buy online or at big garden centers outside the city, as impulse buying of plants and such almost always ends badly. Pricing - Mushtari is fair-ish. Some things are more expensive than the big box stores, and some are less. Once in awhile I find a hilarious incongruity. Recently I bought a PVC plumbing fitting at Home Despot for $11.99, and then saw it at Mushtari for less than half. Although this isn't foolproof, I have generally found that Mushtari can be cheaper than the big box stores on small materials (screws, plumbing and electrical parts, etc); slightly more expensive on larger materials (boards, compound, drywall, etc); more expensive on tools - particularly power tools, some of which are outrageously expensive. Whatever part of those higher prices is due to their cost from their distributor - ok I get it. It must be tough as a small store up against the chains. But if any part of it is to pad profits by fleecing unsuspecting apartment dwellers in need of a drill to hang a picture - SHAME ON THEM. On paint, they're more expensive than the big boxes, mainly because they push the overpriced Benjamin Moore brand - saying that it's better than the big box premium brands, which I don't agree with. As someone who does a LOT of painting, the Behr stuff at Home Despot works just fine, and it's a helluva lot easier to order paint and get service at a big box store than at almost any small hardware store in NYC. If you have the time, the best thing to do is compare pricing. The big box stores have their stuff online which makes it easy. Sometimes I still buy materials at HD or Lowe's because of their return policies. At Mushtari, there are no refunds, just exchanges. HD and Lowe's will take anything back and refund you. When you're doing repairs, sometimes it pays to have extra things on hand so you're not constantly running out to pick up another part. Customer service at Mushtari is spotty, but can be very good. The main manager who you'll find upstairs is great. His number 2, who hangs out downstairs is so-so - knows some things, but is universally surly and terse. The other guys are hit or miss. One thing that's refreshing is that there's very little of the common, annoying tendency of pretending to know something one doesn't. At Mushtari, if you ask "will this solve my problem?", you'll generally get a truthful answer, be it YES, NO, or I DON'T KNOW. My #1 pet peeve with Mushtari - their hours. If I'm remembering correctly, they used to be open from very early (maybe 7 or 7:30) until 7 or 8pm. And I THINK it was 7 days a week, with Sunday hours being shorter. Nowadays they don't open until 8:30, effectively preventing them from being a resource for any professional contractor or even serious DIYer, who want to buy their materials EARLY and be at the jobsite by 8 or 8:30. They are also closed on Sundays in winter, except for a portion of the garden center. See where this is going? To hell with the weekend warrior who's fixing their leaky sink, we wanna sell POTTING SOIL on Sundays. The café is a curiosity - nice vibe and staff, good people watching, good snacks and presumably non-coffee drinks. Barista skill and coffee quality are hugely varying - from OK to extremely bitter, but are par for the...

This review is only for the cafe part. We went in at 4:30. So thirty minutes before the cafe closed, the lady took our order and she got a little attitude but I’m like whatever. She makes the drinks and they were ass tbh. The chai was sooo sweet there’s no balance between the milk and the actual chai concentrate or whatever was used. I asked for extra caramel on my latte and she did so with such attitude like girl…. Anyways. Fast forward it’s 4:45. 15 minutes before closing, a guy comes and attempts to order and she word for word goes “I’ve closed everything up, the only thing available is food.” Five minutes before 5 I believe, another guy comes and she tells him that they close in 5 so she cannot make him a drink and gives him the option of food. I’ve worked at cafes before, so I come from a place of understanding. However, the cafe hasn’t closed yet… why are u denying people of drinks when it isn’t five o clock yet. It’s a little frustrating because you are not closed. You are doing your finishing tasks too early. I promise you, you are the only one losing money in...

I LOVE this place! I stop by here frequently for coffee breaks when I'm at the office. The baristas are super sweet and friendly, and I would love to be their friend. It's such a unique experience as well, you can find seating in the plant store area and enjoy the greenery. OH, and not to mention their BREAKFAST SANDWICHES. These bad boys sell out quickly and for good reason, they're amazing. If you want one, definitely come earlier in the morning. I highly recommend the honey biscuit (I think that's what it's called...)? It's a vegetarian egg and cheese sandwich with I believe is chipotle mayo? I don't even know and frankly I don't care cuz it tastes so good. They have an extensive selection of hardware, and I picked up a couple packs of seeds last time I went. By the register they have some incense and witchy stuff too which I will definitely be browsing...