Happy National Coffee Day ☕️everyone!

To celebrate we are highlighting one of our favorite independently-owned coffee shops in New York City, Porto Rico Importing on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village. This third-generation family-owned business was founded in 1907 on Bleecker Street by Sixth Avenue, where its main shop still operates today.

On any stroll through of Greenwich Village, we always first stop by Porto Rico Importing Company to get a cup of coffee and take in the wonderful smells of the freshly-roasted beans. The benches in front of both their East Village & Greenwich Village locations are always a great place to see friends, say hello to the many neighborhood dogs that are out and about, and people watch. In this photo, our rescue dog @hudsonpittienyc patiently waits outside on the bench.

#nationalcoffeeday #nationalcoffeeday☕️ #coffee #coffeetime #coffeelover #coffeeshop #coffeeshopvibes #coffeeshops #coffeeshopdesign #momandpopshop #momandpopshops #storefront #storefrontcollective #facade #facades #eastvillagenyc #shopfronts #streetsofnewyork #streetsofnewyorkcity #facadelovers #bitsofbuildings #chasing_facades #ilovenyc #facadelover #streetsofnyc

Room, Asylum, earlier...

 

New York, earlier.

 

Bus Stop Cafe

Bus Stop Cafe on Hudson Street at the corner of Bethune Street in the West Village is a family owned restaurant which was established in 1995 and is housed in a storefront which once was a speakeasy during Prohibition. We are always curious how owners choose the names of their businesses and we believe that this cafe’s name was selected because the M11 and M14A bus lines terminate at Abingdon Square directly in front of the restaurant.

#storefront #storefronts #westvillage #storefrontcollective #westvillagenyc #westvillagelife #prettyshop #cafe #prettyshopfronts #shopfronts #cafes #cafestagram #greenwichvillage

96th Annual Feast of San Gennaro

This weekend was the start of 96th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in the Little Italy 🇮🇹 of Manhattan. The Feast of San Gennaro remains one of the largest and most popular street fairs in New York City, as well as a way to preserve Italian American culture. It was so wonderful to see the huge crowds back again after it was canceled two years ago due to the pandemic and was not nearly as crowded last year. Last night, we walked the length of the Feast of @sangennaronyc on a whirlwind food tour w/ our friends @shirleydluginski and @actionkidtv , feasting with our dog Hudson @hudsonpittienyc on pizza 🍕 from @upsidepizza and the most delicious homemade cannolis and ice cream from @cafferoma.nyc as well as Italian sausage. Hudson of course also helped himself to many other snacks along the way.
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To watch our livestream tour and see all the Italian food, rides and games at the Feast this year, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story.
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https://youtu.be/DNelroOvakM

The Slaughtered Lamb Pub

The Slaughtered Lamb Pub on West 4th Street in the West Village of New York City has sadly permanently closed after being in business since 1989. This themed bar with a decor full of werewolves and skeletons was based on the original “Slaughtered Lamb” pub located in a small town just north of London, which was cursed with the bloodline of the werewolf. The inhabitants of the town of East Proctor would sacrifice a lamb of their flock and smear the blood over the doors to ward off the evil spirit of the werewolf. The Slaughtered Lamb Pub in NYC became a popular destination spot in part due to the popularity of the movie “American Werewolf in London” where two NYU students are attacked outside the Slaughtered Lamb pub during the English leg of their tour. We particularly remember the huge crowds gathering at this pub after the annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade and its motorized train set hanging from the ceiling over the bar area. Let us know your memories associated with this pub.

#storefront #storefrontcollective #storefronts #greenwichvillage #greenwichvillagenyc #westvillage #westvillagenyc #westvillagelife #pub #americanwerewolfinlondon #werewolf

Frank's Sporting Goods

We are saddened to share the news that Moe Stein, the 93 year-old second-generation owner of Frank's Sporting Goods in the Bronx has passed away. This family-owned and operated store has been in business since 1922 and was founded by Mike’s father, Frank. It is the oldest sporting goods store in the Bronx. We not only loved speaking with Moe, who was quite charismatic but also fell in love with their vintage neon sign that was installed in the late 1940s. Photo from 2004 appears in our book "Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York".

#storefront #sportinggoods #thebronx #momandpopshop #momandpopshops #bronx #storefrontcollective #bronxbombers

ABC TV

ABC TV on Canal Street in the Lower East Side was located on the ground floor of the former Loew’s Canal Theater building, a 1928 movie palace constructed in a Spanish baroque style. Our first photo is from 2004 and appears in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”. Although ABC TV has been closed for some time, the building itself still has a largely intact theater although the seats have been removed.

#storefront #television #tv #theater #cinematreasures #movietheater #movietheatre #movietheaters #movietheatres #appliances #radio

Gyro Corner Clam Bar

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! As this weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, we are highlighting a family-owned small business in Coney Island, the Gyro Corner Clam Bar which was located on the ‪Boardwalk‬ in Coney Island. We love the amazing ‪vernacular‬ ‪hand-painted‬ ‪signage‬ this ‪storefront‬ had and the great images of all the different food they served including ‪pizza‬ , corn on the cob, gyros, fried clams and knishes. Unfortunately the City of New York forced this amazing ‪clam‬ bar to close in 2011 when it would not renew its lease. Luckily they were able to reopen off the boardwalk but the location is not nearly in as desirable and high-traffic spot. Our photo from 2011 and full interview with the owner talking about the last days on the Boardwalk appear in our book "Store Front II-A History Preserved".

#storefront #storefrontcollective #coneyisland #coneyislandboardwalk #gyro #gyros #vernacular #lettering #handpainted #handpaintedsigns #handpaintedsign #signage #hotdogs #signwriting #hotdog #hotdogs #clams #clams #labordayweekend #laborday