Shopping The Personals: We Were Both Sitting In Starbucks...

It's time again for Shopping The Personals, a recurring Racked feature wherein we comb through the retail-based Missed Connections listings on Craigslist.

A destination for office workers who need to refuel during a workday, a wifi-enabled workspace for creative types pecking away at their Macs—there's a reason why you never really see a Starbucks empty in this town. Of course, among all those caffeinated clients, there's bound to be some lonely singles:

1) Park Slope: "Hi. We were both sitting in the Starbucks for a while this afternoon, we made some eye contact but you seemed really busy, when you got up to leave I went to the counter to get some paper so i could pass my number along to you, but when I turned around you were gone...you had a really big black bag, a Mac and a pretty face. I had a Sony Vaio laptop and a long sleeve polo. If you somehow amazingly read this, you should email me." [Listing]

2) West Village: "A very attractive man with scruffy look with black hair in nice jeans and he had leather jacket in Starbucks on Greenwich Ave at corner of Bank Street sitting on couch near window around 6:30 on Thursday. We exchanged looks many times; you are very attractive and I'd like to meet you (I was sitting right behind you at the table)." [Listing]

3) Boerum Hill: "Tall tall tall and attractive brunette wearing a yellow t and jeans drinking Kombucha. I was in the corner (captain's chair) and I know u busted me checking you out more than once. Sorry. I should have at least smiled at you. If you find this maybe I can make a proper introduction?" [Listing]

Missed connections in Soho and on the UES, this way. >>

AM RackedWire: Brooklyn Bodega Shuttered For 'Illegal Activities'

BOREUM HILL—A Racked Staffer reports that yesterday, this bodega on Hoyt Street between Baltic and Warren Streets in Boreum Hill was shut down by the cops. The report: "I was walking down Hoyt Street and say a gaggle of cops cuffing a guy in front of this bodega. They then pulled down the gates. I asked them why they were closing the place down and one cop said, 'They were selling all sorts of illegal substances out of the back.' I'm guessing it was drugs." [RackedWire]

Rackage: Lucky Jeans

Rackage is a look inside recently-opened stores around town. Today, we braved ever-evolving Smith Street in Brooklyn to check out the Lucky Jeans flagship.

Oh, how the space that formerly housed dive bar Vegas has been transformed. This is the Lucky Jeans store that opened last week at 135 Smith Street. Racks here are hung with an assortment of cotton basics for men and women: boho shirts, tie-dye (!), and tees; there's an array of denim lining the walls at the back of the space. Prices aren't super high, as jeans run about $100 and shirts fall well under that. Jimi Hendrix was playing over the speakers when we were in, which was interesting (they've also got a lot of black-and-white photos of rockers hung about the store). If you're interested in reading more on Lucky Jeans coming to Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Paper published a hilarious article on the subject back in May.

More photos, this way. >>

More Smith Street: Let's Not Forget New Skate Shop Homage

Photo via Flickr/Karyn Bosnak

Guess it's Smith Street day here on Racked. Here's a pic of recently-opened skateboard shop Homage, located at 151 Smith Street at Bergen Street. Pretty* in the City, who took the photo, also commented on this morning's Smith Street article. From her blog, "I'm all for a Starbucks coming to the neighborhood (because they make damn good coffee), but I'd hate to see it become completely commercial." Hmm. Why don't you chew on that statement for a moment while we go stick our head in the oven?

Lucky Joins Like Retailers On Smith Street

All of these things are just like the other: retail storefronts on Smith Street.

So we finally made it over to Smith Street to check out new retailer Lucky Jeans. Of course, we went into the store and covertly took some photos, which are coming shortly. But first, a little game. Can you guess which of these three glassy storefronts, all located on Smith Street between Bergen and Dean Streets, belongs to the Lucky store? If you'd like to play, leave your answer in the comments. Bonus points for naming the other two.
· Smith Street, New Retail Alley [Racked]
· Storecasting: Armani To Settle in Midtown, Plus More News For Hell's Kitchen, BoCoCa And Soho [Racked]

Smith Street, New Retail Alley

Today, the Times draws a conclusion that's been obvious to residents of Cobble Hill, Boreum Hill and Carroll Gardens for a long time: Smith Street's really changed. The impetus for running the piece is the arrival on Smith of new retailers Homage, a skateboarding shop, and Lucky Jeans (more on the new Lucky Jeans later today).

The unpretentious little stretch of Smith Street, from Atlantic Avenue to Carroll Street, overlapping with Boerum Hill to the north and east, Cobble Hill to the west and Carroll Gardens to the south — some call it BoCoCa — seems to be evolving at a pace that is unparalleled, at least in Brooklyn, with a monthly turnover of mom-and-pop grocers and fish markets into new restaurants, shops and condos.

The paper then trots out retail real estate expert Faith Hope Consolo, who never met an opportunity for press that she didn't like, to testify that the rents all along Smith Street are rising like mad, you see, like mad! The piece compiles a list of shops that have recently descended on the stretch: you have Homage and Lucky Jeans, of course, but also Trader Joe's (which is actually opening two long blocks away from Smith, but whatever, lump it in for effect), Starbucks, American Apparel and Flight 001. They also mention longstanding stores Bird, Butter (which is on Atlantic Avenue, see TJ's), and Diane T. The really frightening thing is an off mention of a certain giant product chain, "On a recent afternoon, two young women were standing on Smith Street surveying passers-by for their opinions on Sephora." Okay, Smith Street is changing, but so is Court Street and Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, and, for that matter, Fourth Avenue as well. The whole damn area is becoming too expensive. But that type of logic a good gentrification piece does not make.
· Smith Street Confronts the Corporate Takeover [NY Times]