[Photo from September by Fenton Lawless]
As you probably know, Trash and Vaudeville closed yesterday after 41 years at 4 St. Mark's Place ... to start packing up to move to a new space at 96 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
[EVG photo of 96 E. 7th St. from yesterday]
And this photo on East Seventh Street from last July by @chardog1 provided a sneak preview of what's to come...
An article published Friday on the Vogue website had a few details on the new store:
As on St. Marks, both Trash and Vaudeville will continue to exist on two levels. At the Seventh Street digs, they’ll be connected via an internal staircase, and those in the market for towering T.U.K. platform creepers can take comfort in the fact that the storied shoe department will still be housed on the lower level.
And here's an excerpt from our conversation with store owner Ray Goodman from July:
"I love St. Mark's Place. There's no doubt it. There's something magical about it. This just isn't any block," Goodman told us on the phone. "The decision wasn't something that I took lightly. From a business perspective, we saw a shift in the clientele. The block is not as conducive for fashion shopping as it once was. Now it seems as if it's all food — fast food — and bongs. Even stores that aren't bong stores sell bongs."
He said that the changing business environment on the block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was just one of many factors that played into the decision to relocate.
"The retail world is so different today," he said. "So much of it is done online."
And increasing rents are always a culprit.
"The rent is creeping up," said Goodman, who is a minority partner in the ownership of the historic Hamilton-Holly House at 4 St. Mark's Place. "Rent was a factor, but it wasn't the sole reason."
In a piece on the closing today, The New York Times noted that the rent had risen to $45,000. (That will require a lot of sales of water pipes, ramen or bubble tea...items that a likely new tenant might sell.)
Last November, 4 St. Mark's Place, the landmarked building whose first owner in 1833 was Alexander Hamilton’s son, arrived on the market. Asking price: $11.9 million.
In the past few days, several people on social media said that they'd miss the site of longtime store manager Jimmy Webb on a smoking break outside the shop...
[Photo by James Maher from 2013]
[Photo by James Maher from 2014]
In closing, a passage from that Vogue piece by Kristin Anderson:
While passersby may not ever again know the pleasure of seeing the store’s most famous employee, Jimmy Webb, lounging on those steps ... he’ll continue his reign when Goodman and co. open their doors in the new space ...
The new location is expected to be open some time in March.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: After 40 years, punk rock mainstay Trash and Vaudeville is leaving St. Mark's Place
