It’s an early summer afternoon and I’m sitting in the Sabah in Williamsburg getting fitted for a pair of their Babas. Colleagues had sung the praises of the buttery leather slip-ons, as did my husband’s former loftmate, a friend of the owner who used to provide branded coconuts filled with rum for their parties (yes, that is a real job). There’s a charming bar in the corner of the store; an associate asks me if I want a glass of wine.
When I ask how they choose bottles, he says, “Our selection changes all the time. The person who runs our wine program always finds interesting bottles.”
Record scratch. Wine program? In a retail store? I had so many questions. Like, how is this bottle roster better than the menu at the hot SoHo wine bar I went to last week? It also got me thinking: Are there other stores taking hospitality to the next level? I’m not just talking about a glass of Champagne or a few bottles of whiskey perched behind the cash wrap for appearances. I’m talking about stores that invite you to hang out even if you — gasp! — don’t plan on buying anything.
I was officially on a mission. Throughout the summer, I combed the city for other retailers that invite you to stay awhile. At the end of those three months, I’m the proud owner of luxurious leather slip-ons, fabulous sunglasses and some of the most beautiful cowboy boots I’ve ever seen. But I also joined a backgammon group, found a new favorite dance party and was invited to join a monthly wine club.
Backgammon and Babas
When I spent that first afternoon at Sabah House Brooklyn, the team told me they throw backgammon parties on the last Wednesday of every month in their Manhattan store. So I went down there with my Yashica T4 film camera the last week of July to check things out. There were already a few duos huddled over backgammon boards, glasses of wine and plates of cheese and charcuterie perched on the tables beside them. Tyler Kpakpo was spinning vinyl, playing a blend of disco re-rubs, funk rarities and house among the racks of robes and Turkish towels and walls of leather shoes in every color imaginable.
Soon after I arrived, Sabah’s founder Mickey Ashmore walked into the store. He poured himself a drink and we stepped outside to a sidewalk bench to chat. He started the company out of his apartment in the East Village back in 2013. “I had a party on a Tuesday night and invited everyone I’d ever met,” he said. “We sold like 60 pairs [of shoes] the first night.”
Throughout the evening, yes, customers were trying and buying slippers. But for Ashmore and the team, that’s not the point of the backgammon. “I had a meeting with a new manager, and she asked about the budget for wine, beer and coffee,” Ashmore said. “I said, ‘Whatever it calls for.’ We’re not here to get people drunk, but in a big month, we should have also served a lot of wine, coffee, tea and snacks. Because that’s what it’s all about — making people feel hosted.”
I planned to stay at backgammon night for one hour, maybe 90 minutes at most. It quickly turned into three hours. Everyone there had a cool story: a wine bar somm who also builds speakers and sound systems for restaurants; three 20-something friends who run a video production company; a photographer who just moved to NYC from the Carolinas, playing backgammon with a girlfriend she just met that day. By the time I left, people were still sipping, playing, conversing over a cigarette outside. Someone I met 10 minutes prior said she hoped to see me next month.
It’s clear that everyone at Sabah knows they have a good thing going — community, camaraderie and a good pair of shoes. When I asked Ashmore about what’s on the horizon, he told me all his grand plans are tied back to that initial intimate party.
“It’s good to get your business bigger because it creates opportunities for people and allows you to spread what you’re doing, but not at the expense of losing what made it fun,” he said. “We’re going to open a couple more stores, but I want to make sure every store feels unique and special, contributes to the community and becomes a place of hospitality.”
Crawfish Boil on the Showroom Floor
It was a perfect summer Saturday in Manhattan: sunny, warm but not too warm, busy sidewalks that weren’t quite body to body. My husband and I, out for a day of shopping, walked from SoHo to the Meatpacking District where we met up with a friend to hit a couple more stores before a dinner reservation at Perry St. We made Krewe our final retail stop because I heard they had a wine bar tucked inside their Gansevoort Street store.
Inside we met with Vinton, the general manager, and Cora, whose title hints at the store’s aspirations: community engagement store lead. I had heard of Krewe but admittedly hadn’t previously gotten an up-close look at their eyewear, which is designed as functional works of art — the 24-karat gold-plated hardware and seamless, edge-to-edge lenses are almost painfully sophisticated. But just like the Krewe crew, I’m not here to just sell you glasses.
“We have people that come in every day with their dogs just to say hi,” Vinton told us as he poured glasses of Martha Stoumen “Post Flirtation” Red (one of my favorite California producers). “We have built a real community in this store.”
In Real Life With Restaurateur Ariel Arce
I caught up with the entrepreneur behind Tokyo Record Bar and Pearl Box to talk takeout, bowling and the one restaurant seat to avoid at all costsKrewe Meatpacking is undoubtedly a retail space, but move towards the back, and you’ll be greeted with a plush seating area, perfect for taking a load off while sipping a vino or espresso. Dubbed Patula, the wine bar within is an offshoot of Krewe’s NOLA restaurant of the same name.
“It started in New Orleans with our all-day bistro led by chef Rob Tabone,” said Kate McCabe, vice president of brand marketing at Krewe, “bringing together food, wine and the spirit of hospitality that is so deeply rooted in the city.”
While the New York Patula doesn’t have a full-service restaurant, chef Tabone often does pop-ups at the store. A rainstorm in May didn’t stop a massive crowd from showing up for their crawfish boil, and a recent dinner paired eight courses with natural wines on the showroom floor. During my time in the store, some people bought eyewear; others simply dallied with a glass of wine.
“We’ve seen people use our stores as places to linger in ways we didn’t necessarily design for,” said McCabe. “They’ll come in with friends, stay for a glass of wine, try on frames or grab a seat outside at one of our bistro tables on a summer day and stay awhile. We’ve really embraced that.”
“There’s something very New Orleans about making room for people to linger and letting the experience unfold naturally.”
Western Culture Is for Everyone
When I was in middle school, I had a snakeskin-print cowboy hat that I wore to every school dance. My fuzzy blue steering-wheel cover had “Cowgirl” embroidered in metallic silver thread. Raised in Ohio in a Greek and Italian family, I grew up far removed from Western culture, but as Americans, it eventually calls for us all. (Even if you aren’t American, for that matter! When I visited my cousin in Italy in 2019, she was wearing a pair of cowboy boots, which they call texani.)
The same calling brought me down to the Tecovas flagship store on Wooster Street in SoHo. A friend told me about its genuine hospitality, and its massive bar.
The bar sits in the middle of the store, where someone is on hand to pop open a beer or Topo Chico Hard Seltzer or mix you an Old Fashioned. Texas darling Tito’s is, of course, on display, as is Desert Door Texas Sotol, a personal favorite. I asked for the latter, neat, and the bartender generously poured a dram into a white and blue clay copita.
A couple was perched on barstools next to me, finishing their beers. A family that had been shopping all day relaxed into the store’s overstuffed leather couches, chatting and enjoying refreshments. While the complimentary shoe-shine chairs were vacant during my visit, it’s a service you should absolutely take advantage of the next time you’re in SoHo. Nick Johnson, a senior store manager, said it’s become a destination for both locals and tourists.
“That bar was completely full last Saturday,” he told me after I asked if people stop in just to have a drink. And it’s no wonder — the drinks are 100% complimentary.
The store is full of Western flair, artwork and other knickknacks, but Tecovas also infuses each location with a unique sense of place. In the case up front, jewelry from local New York designers is on display. Meanwhile, boots can be branded with custom designs; each city has one specific to them. I had the Statue of Liberty stamped on the inside pull tab of my Sadies.
Johnson told me Tecovas is planning to open a Williamsburg store in the coming months, which is a no-brainer, especially with the ever-popular line-dancing bar Desert 5 Spot just up the road. And if it becomes its own bona fide hangout that doesn’t require a second stop? Well, that’s par for the course.
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