Specialty Shops

Comparing East Village and Williamsburg

Design At the Edge, Spring 2012 Design Brief

Arisara Srisethnil, Ryan Burgam, Kelsey Conophy, Julieta Larriba

Research Questions

For this mapping project our group decided to work with specialty shops, and how are they

positioned around East Village and Williamsburg.

The first thing that we needed to do for this project was to answer the question: What is a

specialty shop? We looked into the academic definition for this type of shop; a specialty shop

it’s a retail space that offers a specialized type of items of a particular brand or particular

product.

After reading the academic definition, we came out with a different explanation of what a

specialty shop should be. This definition was more appropriate for the type of specialty that

we where researching, and was more adapted to our particular way of seeing a specialty shop.

This is what we agreed on looking when deciding if something was a specialty shop or not:

- The shop should be focused on a particular class of products

- It should only have one standing location

- It shouldn’t have commercial advertising

- It should have a limited selection of products (no more than 5)

After coming out with this definition, we also decided that, for our project, we would be

focusing in only two neighborhoods, East Village and Williamsburg. This two where chosen

mainly for two reasons, the first one, that the two neighborhoods are close to where the

members of the group live, and the second one, the fact that this two neighborhoods are

considered trendy right now, and a lot of young people live on them; the east village is an

older community and Williamsburg is in the process of growing.

Research Methods

Upon determining a definition of what our team considered to be a specialty shop, the next

phase of our project involved an intensive research component. Before stepping out onto the

field, we compiled a survey to give to each of the storeowners/employees that we encountered.

Some of the questions were as follows: How long have you been in business? How old is your

average customer? Why this specific food? Along with the store surveys, the next element of

our research consisted of basic Internet research. By looking over each store’s Twitter

account, review on yelp, and other various sources we were able to get an unbiased, honest

idea as to how customers viewed each of the specialty shops. Following the survey and

research components of our project, each member of the group was responsible for making

thorough observations of the interior/exterior of the specialty shop as well as the area around

each shop. By taking notes and photographs, our team was able to get a sense of the physical

and aesthetic constituents involved with this emerging specialty shop trend.

Throughout our research, the team made a point to look into the various competitors that each

of the specialty shops faced. The competition fell within two basic arenas: Drugs stores and

grocery stores. Compared to the one-of-a-kind, intimate ambiance of the specialty shops, the

team noticed a very sterile, impersonal quality of the competition. For example, the grocery

store, Key Foods used self-checkout machines rather than employees to ring up customers.

Similarly, the staff at Duane Reade was not concerned with greeting customers or sharing

information about the products. By juxtaposing major corporate competitors with mom and

pop specialty shops we were able to discover how the chosen specialty shops utilized

branding, product assortment, and store location to battle such powerful companies.

Stores Visited

East Village

Barnyard

194 Ave C (9th and 10th St) Specialty: Cheese Price Range: $6-25/ lb Open in 2008 @Barnyard Cheese

This cheese shop has a rustic appeal with a clientele of 25-35 year olds, typically in relationships.

Bond St. Chocolate

63 E. 4th St (2nd Ave & Bowery) Specialty: Chocolate Price Range: $10-$50+ Open: 2009 @BondStChocolate

This chocolate shop is inspired by rock and roll, Keith Richards, and is named after the street shop owner, Lynda Stern, used to live on.

East Village Cheese

40th 3rd Ave (9th and 10th St) Specialty: Cheese Price: $1-$15/ lbs Open: 1987 No Twitter

This cheese shop has been in business for 25 years serving a loyal clientele in their 40's and crave affordable cheeses.

East Village Meat Market

138 2nd Ave (9th and St Marks) Specialty: Polish Meat/ Sausage Price Rage: $3-$15+ Open: 1970 No Twitter

This meat shop has been serving the East Village polish meats and sausages for over 30 years. Their established clientele doesn't require branding and exposure via social media.

Good Beer

422 E 9th St (1st Ave & Ave A) Specialty: Craft Beer Price: $10+ Open: 2010 @goodbeernyc

Focusing their product line on artisanal craft beers, this store attracts "hipsters" in plaid who seek quality beer.

Puddin'

102 St Mark Place (1st+ Ave A) Specialty: Pudding Price Range: $4-$55 Open: 2012 (3 months) @puddinNYC

Inspired by her favorite childhood dessert, Clio Goodman's brainchild attracts young people with a sweet tooth.

Russo's

344E. 11th St (1st and 2nd Ave) Specialty: Pasta and Mozzarella Price Range: $3-$30+ Open: 1975 No Twitter

Selling tradition Italian cheeses and mozzarella shows how shop owner's inspiration roots back to their heritage.

Sigmund's

29 Ave B (2nd & 3rd St) Specialty: Pretzels Price Range: $3- $7 Open: 2009 @SigmundPretzel

This shop offers pretzels and a variety of flavors and coffee to wash it down with. The atmosphere attracts students who come to study and snack.

Stogo

159 2nd Avenue (at 10th St) Specialty: Dairy-Free Ice Cream Price Range: $4-$15 Open: 2008 @stogonyc

Serving dairy-free ice cream, this specialty shop attracts younger residents looking for an alternative dessert.

Williamsburg

Bedford Cheese Shop

229 Bedford Ave Specialty: Cheese Price range: $8-30 per oz Opened: 2006 @bedfordcheese

The cheese shop offers quality cheeses to the neighborhood in a quaint and rustic atmosphere. Young professionals are the dominant clienteles.

Breukelen Bier Merchants

182 Grand St Specialty: Craft beer Price range: $5 per pint Opened: 2011 @breukelenbier

Shops offering craft beer shows that consumer habits are shifting towards high quality, traditionally produced beverages.

Depanneur

242 Wythe Ave Specialty: Sandwiches & foreign grocery Price range: $10-45 per item Opened: 2010 @dpanneurbklyn

Although specializing in sandwiches, this store also offers foreign groceries not available at a typical grocery store; this shows the influence of "home" amongst consumers and shop owners.

D.O.C Wine Shop

147 Broadway Specialty: Wine Price range: $30-130 per bottle Opened: 2007 @docwinebar

The large selection of high quality wines attracts young professionals with higher disposable incomes who like fine wins.

Fortunato Brothers

289 Manhattan Ave Specialty: Italian Bakery & Gelato Price range: $3-$10+ Opened: 1977

Customers are loyal to this established store and appreciate the authentic flavors of Italy.

Gourmet Guild

110 Broadway Specialty: Local Goods Price range: $8-20 Opened: 2012 (4 months) @GGaGOGO

Offering a larger selection of foods, this store is unique in that all products are from local growers and producers.

Marlow & Daughters 95 Broadway Specialty: Meat (butcher) Price range: $8-15/ lb Opened: 2008 @marlowndaughter

The sister store of restaurant Marlow & Sons, this butcher shop attracts diners from the restaurants and locales.

Mast Brothers Chocolates

111 North 3rd St Specialty: Chocolate Price range: $7-15/ bar Opened: 2012 (3 months) @mastbrothers

Brothers Michael and Rick opened this shop because of their passion for hand crafted quality chocolates. The branding of the store reflects the favorite memories they shared sailing the sea.

Radish

158 Bedford Ave. Specialty: prepared foods Price range: $4-13 Opened: 2010 @radishnyc

The store specializes in home made/ prepared dishes that customers can pick up to heat and eat at home.

Smorgasburg

Waterfront btw N 6th St & N7th St Specialty: Local artisanal foods without store locations Price range: $6-15 per item Opened: 2011 @smorgasburg

This "shop" is special in that there is no physical location. This food festival is a meeting ground for al local artisanal food vendors who do not have standing store locations.

Spuyten Duyvil

218 Bedford Ave Specialty: Rare beers & Local food

Price range: $7-25

Opened: 2007

Shops offering rare beer shows that consumer habits are shifting towards high quality, traditionally produced beverages.

Results

From this study, we found some similarities and some differences between the East

Village and Williamsburg. To begin, we found that specialty shops in the neighborhoods had

existed for 20 years or more, or less than 5 years. We believed this was because the older

stores were able to afford the rent prices in these neighborhoods that had become “hip”, and

thus more expensive, as they had probably stabilized their rent years ago at a lower, more

manageable price. As for the newer stores, we found that they had replaced many different

kinds of stores before them that had gone out of business because of said high rent prices.

We also found that though the shops in the EV and WB were located depending on

rent prices, it seemed that the shops in the EV were located in areas where there was the

cheapest rent. We concluded that because there is such a dense population in the EV and

Manhattan, the shops only needed to focus on finding the cheapest available rent, rather than

finding the customers. In WB however, because Brooklyn is a much larger area, and much

less densely populated, the shops had to follow their customers. The new WB shops were

actually in fairly high rent zones, which we believe indicated that they need to be located near

their customers, rather than where the rent is cheapest. We also found that the shops in WB

were located in clusters, near major hubs of transportation, such as the JMZ Marcy Ave stop,

and the Bedford Ave L stop. The East Village shops however, tended to be spread out more,

and didn’t really fall into any patterns or groups. Once again, this supports our idea that in the

EV, it is more about finding the cheapest way to do business and win customers by remaining

spread out from competition, whereas in WB, because of the larger geography, the shops must

be located in clusters in order to attract enough customers, in a more collaborative fashion.

These conclusions support our findings that for newer shops, branding and social

media presence is also huge aspect, as they must do much to win over customers and prove

their products are worth their significantly higher prices. The older shops however, don’t have

to rely on branding or marketing, as they already have a solid base of customers that trust

their products.

Another interesting finding we discovered, was the fact that most of the specialty

stores in WB are what we called “necessary pantry item” shops. Their products were more in

accordance with what people would use on a regular basis (though not always necessary

pantry items, and higher priced). The customer bases at the WB shops were more consistent,

and loyal, and tended to be repeat customers throughout the week or month, depending on

the shop. The EV shops though, were more “occasional item” shops, in a way, more

superfluous luxury items than gourmet pantry staples, as was the case in WB. The customers

of the shops in the EV tended to be one time buyers, or very irregular, rather than repeat

customers.

Maps of East Village

Maps of Williamsburg

Map of East Village and Williamsburg

Evaluation of Results

Our research allowed us to compare and contrast shop owners' sources of inspiration. Like Keith Richards or Alexander McQueen, these specialty shop owners were inspired by past experiences rooting close to home.

One shop in the East Village, Bond Street Chocolate is not located on Bond St. but on 4th Street. However, momtreprenuer and former pastry chef, Lynda Stern explains that her 2009 store is named after the street she used to live on. Her love for boozy chocolates was inspired by her career as a pastry chef. Her famous skull truffles are inspired by Keith Richards.

Another shop, Puddin' the 3 month old brainchild of Clio Goodman, a British born, Ohio raised pastry chef was also created thanks to her life long passion for food and pastry. Upon leaving the pastry team at Union Square Café and becoming a personal chef, she decided to focus her new career on her favorite childhood treat. "The idea for a pudding-centric dessert shop took shape after a friend requested one of his favorite childhood treats, butterscotch pudding. As a child, Clio also relished the simple pleasures of a batch of homemade pudding, and she was able to take it to a whole new level."

Childhood memories and the home aren't only influential amongst newer shops. Both East Village Meat and Russo's Pasta and Mozzarella have been around since the 70s and 80s. These shops were open and inspired by family traditions rooting back to home countries. Polish meats and sausages and Italian cheeses and pastas are cultural and ritualistic foods. Opening shops to provide the neighborhood with traditions from home shows that inspiration is sourced from what one is familiar with. Passion is also a determining factor in the longevity of each business.

In Brooklyn, Mast Brothers Chocolates' branding is inspired by their love of sailing, the sea and childhood memories of sailing together. The ingredients, flavor combinations, packaging of their chocolates, and the décor of the store all relate back to the brothers' passion for the ocean. The brothers are inspired by "childlike curiosity" while crafting chocolate using traditional and ritualistic methods of the Aztecs in a new way.