In the early 1900s, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) was headquartered at 116 Imlay Street, near the Atlantic Basin. The company was started in Manhattan in 1859 as a retailer of tea brought in by clipper ships. The company expanded into coffee and spices, evolving into a national chain of grocery stores by the early 1900s. The company's expansion is likely why it moved its New York operations from Imlay Street to Sunset Park's Bush Terminal in 1921.