The J. Crew men's concept store on the Bowery has closed

After nearly 15 months on the SW corner of the Bowery and Bleecker, the bespoke J. Crew men's shop has closed... [Update: Sources said that this was only supposed to be a short-term deal.]

The shop arrived to lots of hoopla in September 2022, ushering in a new era for the brand. In 2021, J. Crew hired Brendon Babenzien — former Supreme design director — to be the creative director. He debuted/celebrated his first collection in September 2022 at a party at Jean's on Lafayette, featuring a 7-song set by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  

Per J. Crew at the time, this location was "a new men’s concept store featuring a curated collection of J.Crew menswear, vintage finds including art and furniture, plus coffee from Urban Backyard." 

There were signs of trouble in August when the store was closed for several weeks due to "technical difficulties" (no customers?). The space eventually reopened, though without the coffee service. (Anyway, Think Coffee is right across Bleecker.)

A lot of money went into renovating this space (not including the 24/7 security detail hired to prevent people from tagging the 316 Bowery storefront) that had been a string of restaurants through the years, most recently Saxon + Parole.

Meanwhile, it's not all bad news for the brand: a J. Crew is opening nearby on Bond and Lafayette this year. 

Report: J. Crew executives post taunting Instagram pics on 3rd Avenue hours after staff layoffs

In case you didn't see the cover of the Post today... Well, let's go right to the story:

Hours after telling members of his team they were laid off, a J.Crew veep danced on their graves at a nearby bar with fellow survivors — posing for celebratory photos that were hash-tagged with “Hunger Games” jokes.

Alejandro Rhett, vice president of men’s merchandising, personally delivered the bad news to several workers who were among the 175 layoffs at the struggling company on Wednesday, sources told The Post.

Rhett then hightailed it from J.Crew’s East Village headquarters to the Linen Hall bar, where he and other still-employed colleagues threw back drinks, the photos show.

The hashtags on the photos taken outside the bar on Third Avenue near East 13th Street included #maytheoddsbeevrinyourfavor and #damnitfeelsgoodtobeagangster. The photos have since been removed.

A J.Crew spokesperson said the company "does not condone" the behavior of Rhett and the others, adding, "As soon as we were made aware, the appropriate actions took place."

Meanwhile, we will go visit Drunk J. Crew...


[Photo via Drunk J. Crew]

Updated 6-19
Rhett was reportedly fired yesterday.