Openings: Star Team on 9th Street

Image via @kyotaumeki

East Village native (and current resident) Kyota Umeki, a skateboarder and designer, debuted his skate shop, Star Team, Wednesday at 436 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

He created the Star Team brand a few years back, and the shop features his clothing, boards and other accessories (check out his headphones). 

Quartersnacks posted a Q&A with him on Wednesday, where, among other topics, he talks about the vision he has for the storefront: 

I don't know what the shop will actually be like after it opens, but right now, I'm imagining a shop where the community will grow on its own. I want this store to be run like a real store. I want it to be proper. I want people to feel comfortable here. I'm looking forward to doing events and gatherings — not exactly "shows." The space is pretty small, so it's hard to think of bigger stuff to do, but it'd be sick to do drop events for homies and little gather-arounds every couple of weeks, like having other brands and clothing.

And how it started with the ribbon cutting ...
 

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A post shared by Kyota Umeki (@kyotaumeki)

For now, Star Team will be open Monday-Friday from noon to 7 p.m. and weekends from 1-5 p.m. 

H/T William Klayer