In a message posted on Tokio7's Instagram account, staff reflected on Watanabe's decades-long presence in the store he opened in 1996 on the south side of the block. (They moved to this side of Seventh in 2010.)
"From that day on, he rarely stepped away," the post reads. "Year after year, he was here, unlocking the door, straightening the racks, watching over the floor, speaking quietly with customers. He didn't just run this store. He carried it."
The shop became a fixture of the East Village fashion scene and a workplace for many people starting out in New York.
"For many of us, as immigrants trying to find our place in New York, this store became our home," the post continues. "It was where we found stability when everything else felt uncertain. Where we learned how to stand on our own."
Staff said they plan to carry on Watanabe's legacy at the shop.
"Makoto created more than a business. He created a place where people could begin again."
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