Thursday, June 30, 2016

A visit to former East Village mainstay Love Saves the Day in New Hope, Pa.



Photos and text by Shawn Chittle

Tucked neatly away along the Delaware River not far from where Washington made his famous crossing lies a lovely little town called New Hope, Pa. I took a two-hour car ride (it goes by fast) here and found an old friend: Love Saves The Day, the former vintage store on Second Avenue and Seventh Street made famous, in part, by its appearance in the 1985 film “Desperately Seeking Susan.”

I introduced myself to the the manager, Stasia Kauriga. “We love our East Village fans,” she told me.


[From left: Stasia Kauriga, manager; Adam, music associate; Jill Edge, asst. manager]

She told me about the day when her phone wouldn’t stop ringing with people worried about the store after the deadly Second Avenue explosion in March 2015, which destroyed three buildings including the original Love Saves the Day location at No. 119.

“I had to tell them we actually weren’t at that location anymore.” she said.

The East Village Love Saves the Day closed on Jan. 18, 2009, after 43 years in business. Word was their rent tripled.

However, Love Saves the Day already had a presence in New Hope. "We just moved the Second Avenue inventory here when we couldn’t maintain that location,” Kauriga said.

That news was a surprise to me. I had always thought that the store closing in 2009 was for a move to New Hope. But the New Hope storefront has been around a long time, and it looks at home on the town's Main Street.

As I look around the store, it looks all so familiar, but so much larger.





Then I spot something familiar in the corner: the original Love Saves the Day awning from Second Avenue. It’s peeking out from behind a corner, looking worn and forgotten, but a welcome sight nonetheless.



All my "Star Wars" toys from the 1970s are here, along with Beatles records and collectables, everything KISS, Pee Wee Herman, lunch boxes, and kitsch galore. Frankly, the prices are affordable and I left with a few treasures.



The sense of humor and adventure, all the charm and pure East Village that was the store on Second Avenue is here in abundance, and I do mean abundant. The store has both an upstairs and downstairs.





Love Saves The Day is located at 1 S Main St, New Hope, Pa., and is open Mon-Fri: 11 am - 6 pm, Sat 11 am - 7 pm and Sun 11 am - 6 pm.

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[119 2nd Ave. from early 2009]

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this. Great to know that they are thriving in New Hope!!

Anonymous said...

Rent didn't triple. The owner died and her husband didn't want to maintain the store in EV.

Anonymous said...

Awww, I loved this store. Glad to see it's been reincarnated.

Anonymous said...

They also have a comprehensive collection of Playboy Magazines. And if you sift through them, the articles about NYC in the years gone by are actually worth a look, more so than the centerfold and for the stuff the magazine is known for. Also, no photos are allowed, but I'm sure she let you since you introduced yourself and probably asked for permission. Finally, Also, New Hope is actually a nice scenic and friendly town.

Anonymous said...

Why no photos allowed? 'Not complaining, just wondering. I would think you'd want people to take pics of your place as it's free publicity. Why that policy? Again, just wondering.

Eden Bee said...

Haha I remember those Playboys. There was some great stuff in them. Thanks for this Shawn C!

Anonymous said...

@1:40.Maybe they don't want the constant distraction of photo taking, like restaurants that don't want you taking photos.

Shawn said...

They gave me full permission. Such lovely people.

Mark Hand The Catchman said...

I wonder what ever happened to Little Rickies from 1st Ave... closed or moved?

NEW YORK IN THE 1990's PHOTO ARCHIVES said...

Loved this store, sdo typical of the 90's east Village...but man, it was so expensive 8 And the people workling there not always very nice...
Here's a shot of the fun sign they had outside, probably so tired of kids playing with their expensive collectible "toys":
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iSu3o0kHjWc/UHsfwMZP1LI/AAAAAAAABeQ/xvcfR4m5jeI/s640/blogsimg688.tif

Anonymous said...

Not sure if they still do it, but when I last went there awhile ago this store was charging people a browsing fee just to enter. It was small but stupid. I said I lived near their old location. Is that what they meant by valuing us?

Shawn said...

Love Saves The Day does not charge people to enter the store, and I've never heard of such a thing. It's so fun. Take a trip and check it out!

Anonymous said...

I grew up in New Hope and they did, at one point, charge a small fee to come in. If I remember correctly, it was a nickel or something and you'd get a tiny plastic pig. But this was maybe 12 years ago -- I've been in since and wasn't charged. Maybe it's just something they did every so often...