More from the candy beat this morning: Yesterday's breaking news of the impending closure of West Village's Chocolate Bar, purveyor of tasty hot chocolate and kickass candy bars, wasn't the end of the story for the popular shop. While Chocolate Bar will be leaving its original home at Eighth Avenue between Jane and Horatio Streets at the end of April, it will not be departing the Village entirely. Chocolate Bar staffers say that they will likely assume a space in the East Village on Seventh Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A. They were keen on a space in Chelsea, but the commercial rents in East Village are more affordable.
The East Village is not exactly lacking for sweetspots or cafes, what with Mud Coffee, Cafe Pick Me Up, Sympathy for the Kettle, Max Brenner, and Starbucks in the vicinity. However, Chocolate Bar out-charms all these places combined, so there's really no comparison.
· BREAKING: West Village Losing Chocolate Bar [Racked]
Hey, this whole "green" thing may just have legs! Using canvas bags in place of plastic ones doesn't just reduce carbon footprint emissions—it makes a nifty window display, too. Angel Street Thrift Shop has turned totes into a head-turning spectacle, with a random assortment of bags artfully positioned along their storefront on West 17th Street in Chelsea. Whether it's a nod to the environmental movement or simply a low-budget thrifty display, we like it just the same.
· Angel Street Thrift Shop [Official Site]
The line outside the Barneys Warehouse sale on its last day
Yesterday was the final day of Barneys two-week Warehouse Sale (heard of it??), so of course, we moseyed over there to check out the scene. It was an apocalyptic frenzy. By 2pm, the queue to get in was over 200 people long. Shoppers gasped at the line snaking down 17th Street, but waited at the end regardless. An attendant was barking commands at the crowd from the building entrance: "Stay in line, people! Things will move fast that way! We are letting in ten at a time!" This hardly quelled the crowd's bloodthirst for discounted labels.
Chelsea is a neighborhood that's not exactly hurting for home decor and furnishing stores: what can't you find for your apartment with a Bed Bath & Beyond, The Container Store, Williams-Sonoma, Home Depot, and West Elm clustered around Sixth and Seventh Avenues? We have no idea, but apparently Gracious Home sees a void and is ready to battle it out with the big boys. The furnishings chain is setting up shop in a 24,000-square-foot storefront in the recently-finished Chelsea Landmark building, a 38-story residential tower on Sixth Avenue between 25th and 26th Streets.
Malin+Goetz, Chelsea's modern apothecary, has been keeping busy—and not just with their super PH-balanced skincare, body, and hair products. They've been expanding their sleek little store at 177 Seventh Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets. The renovations, which should be completed in two weeks time, will ultimately double the size of the boutique. Workers have cleared out the former brickwalled office space in the rear of the store to make more room for their signature lotions and potions (like the best-selling grapefruit face cleanser) and also to add some new features to the tiny flagship. The duo behind the eponymous store, Andrew Goetz and Matthew Malin, are also planning to add a perfumery, votive candles, and other bodycare extension lines.
· Malin+Goetz [Official Site]
Before anyone who's walked by this storefront on West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Aves gets unduly excited about a new jeans store for the neighborhood, it should be known that Diesel is merely taking over the space for their offices. The Italian denim company acquired the entire 12-story building at 220-230 West 19th Street last year for $53 million and plan to move their HQ here from midtown within the year. Of course, if the retailer did decide to open a Chelsea hub, we think they'd do quite well. If there's any area where designer denim is appreciated...
Lest you think we've abandoned the Barneys Warehouse Sale after just one day, you are very wrong. We swung back to the sale on West 18th Street around 8pm last night to survey the after-work shopping scene, and we can verify that it was still a shitstorm. The shoe aisles were packed, and it was tight quarters in the denim and tops area. Despite the crowds rummaging through boxes and trying on clothes in corners, the lines were moving quickly. A Barneys sale attendant confirmed that the busiest times yesterday were morning and lunchtime (around 1:30-2:30pm); she also told us that Barneys is constantly replenishing. Ultimately, we think it makes the most sense to visit later on in the sale, when the crowds have thinned, the clothes are not strewn all over the floor, and the prices have dropped further.
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: Don't Forget Housewares [Racked]
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: Mastering It [Racked]
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: Men's Basement! [Racked]
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: Smooth Sailing [Racked]
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: Pushing, Grabbing, Shoving [Racked]
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: We're In! [Racked]
CHELSEA—We've got an update on the sad state of Chelsea's Barnes & Noble. Per a tipster: "The Barnes & Noble on Sixth Ave and 21st Street is officially closing March 31st (boo hoo!). The cashier I talked to said the lease was up and the landlord wanted a huge increase.They offered severance to those who didn't want to relocate. She didn't know what was coming in the space next." Racked readers have been leaving their suggestions on the soon-to-be-vacated space, but does anyone really know what's going to rise in its place? [Racked Inbox]
WEST VILLAGE—Great news! An informant sends word that: "Carpeting has been put in at the D'AGs Grocery Store on Bethune and Greenwich Streets! How much do you think they are going to raise the prices now?!" Good question. We also wonder how this affects traction while pushing one's shopping cart full of overpriced produce. [Racked Inbox]
NOLITA—How about we round out this edition of 'Wire with a good old reader rant? From the inbox: "I just want to send a notice to readers that SoHo Cleaners at the corner of Houston and Bowery is the worst. I sent a one-of-a-kind beaded dress to be dry-cleaned there. They had cleaned it several times before, so I didn't think twice about handing it over. After picking it up, I discovered that the dress was melted and burned. They totally overheated during the cleaning process and just melted all the beading, which bled all over the dress. I contacted them and went back there to discuss the matter numerous times, but a manager was never present. I waited three weeks and got no call from the manager. Ultimately, they refused to refund the cleaning process and said they forfeit responsibility when cleaning delicate dresses." One word: Avoid. [Racked Inbox]
Cold, impatient line waiters outside Barneys Co-op this morning
A Racked reader has some sage advice for Barneys Warehouse Sale shoppers:
Hey. I used to work in an office in the Barney's Co-op building (the building actually takes up a good portion of the block, and Barney's owns the whole thing) and I have a potential tip for mastering the warehouse sale. The head of maintenance for the building once told me that Barney's replenishes inventory throughout the sale, even until the last days, and it's not necessarily the case that the best stuff goes out first. He would recommend waiting a couple of days into the sale, definitely on a weekday, and getting there around 10:30-11am. I never took him up on the advice, since at the time I was on too tight of a budget for even the warehouse sale. Luckily, I left that job for a better-paying one and I will be heading over to the sale Monday morning for sure.
It's Valentine's Day, sure, but today's also the opening day at the Barneys Warehouse Sale, kicking off this morning at the Barneys Co-op in Chelsea. Racked is on the scene all morning to cover the madness. Strap in.
It's been a full hour since the first dedicated shoppers, fingers and toes numb from the extreme cold, trickled into the Barneys Warehouse Sale. At present, the sale is a madhouse. We've reached code red. The relative calm of the first 30 minutes has been replaced by pulling, shoving, grabbing and stripping. Dazed-looking security guards are milling about, not doing much to help or hinder.
Hilariously, there are racks and racks of Kate Moss for Topshop merchandise. No one is even going near it. Where was all that stuff when people actually wanted it?? Aside from that, there's a lot of great clothing to be found on the racks; on our quick run through we spotted some very cute Rag & Bone vests, 3.1 Phillip Lim dresses and jackets and just so. much. more. worth emptying your bank account for.
A warning: as always, the bag-check situation is perilous, so if you go now don't bring much more with you than a wallet. There's a big sign saying they're not responsible for checked belongings worth more than $50, which doesn't even cover the cost of a nice handbag.
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: We're In! [Racked]
· Live at Barneys Warehouse Sale: What's My Line? [Racked]
We must relate the sad news that Roger & Dave, purveyors of kitchy adult toys and gay novelty products, will be closing the doors to their two Chelsea stores (123 Seventh Ave and 224 Eighth Ave) at the end of the month. Long before retailers like Urban Outfitters and Ricky's resurrected pop iconography and retro paraphernalia for mass consumption, Roger & Dave were selling Superman lunch boxes and ironic tees in Chelsea. After 27 years, the retail pioneers are retiring. Their stores, carrying accessories, books, bags, magnets, and quirky collections, are closing within the month. However, because all inventory is 50% off, items are moving quickly and both stores may close before then. Grab your greeting cards and Golden Girls tee shirt before it's too late!
One of the best spots in town for reasonably-priced jewelry is also a great stop for home furnishings. The owners of Pippin Vintage Jewelry, Chelsea Flea Market vets Steve and Rachel Cooper, acquired a freestanding ranch house hidden behind a storefront at 112 West 17th Street more than a year ago and turned it into a housewares shop called Our House. When the duo moved their jewelry boutique from the Lower East Side to that Chelsea storefront directly in front of Our House last May, they renamed Our House Pippin Home. The shop, stocked with antique furniture, tabletop items, and other brick-a-brac, has the same charming, slightly-cluttered feel as the jewelry store. Pippin Home has been around for more than a year, but the store's flown pretty far under the radar. We're not the type to keep these things secret, though.
A Wall Street Journal writer isn't happy with the service he received at Nickel in Chelsea. "We waited about 10 minutes while we sipped bottled water, the only drink they offered, before our barber came. Here we opted for a straightedge shave for both our scalp and face. (We returned the next day for a facial. We were told that a having a facial on the same day as a shave would irritate our skin.) The haircut and shave were a disaster. We suffered numerous cuts on our neck and one on our left cheek. 'That doesn't happen often,' says Hector Peña, a general manager for Nickel Spa. 'We haven't been having complaints with it. We also noticed that the spa technician missed some spots on the top of our head. We pointed it out, but he said, 'Oh, no, that's just a birthmark.'" [WSJ]
An amusing Times correction from the Real Estate section: "The Habitats article last Sunday about a jewelry designer who lives in Chelsea and bemoans the gentrification of the neighborhood included an incorrect comment from the designer about the number of self-service laundries on Eighth Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets. Two remain, not just one." [NY Times]
It looks like Tommy Hilfiger isn't the only one who's trying to class it up with a new, upscale NYC boutique: today a tipster send us this image, taken last night, of the Marc Ecko Cut & Sew store readying to open at 147 Eighth Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets in Chelsea. Yes, right in the middle of Gaytown, as the Shophound put it. What, exactly, is Marc Ecko Cut & Sew? From the company's website:
From the mind of Marc Ecko comes Cut & Sew, a signature collection created for today's fashion-forward young man. Blending classic tailoring with edgy graphics and embellishments, Cut & Sew turns the contemporary market on its head with a heavy dose of irreverence and swagger. Comprised of semi-tailored separates, sweaters, active wear, blazers, woven shirts, premium denim, and T-shirts, the Cut & Sew collection is the life, the style, the brand that others wish they had.
Bets are on as to which major retailer will snap up 675 Sixth Avenue in Chelsea. The 41,700-square-foot storefront, located in a beautiful pre-war building, is currently home to Barnes & Noble. Though the book store isn't slated to shutter till next spring, the space is already being advertised for rent. But who will bite? The Shophound would love to see a Nordstrom move in, while a Racked reader wrote that the location would "make a perfect Tar-zhay store." Target in Chelsea? Well, many of the other retailers in the area are discount, so it would seem to make sense, but we're with The Shophound on this one. Any other guesses/predictions as to who it will be? Feel free to mail 'em in, or leave them in the comments.
· Chelsea Barnes & Noble Space Officially On The Block [Racked]
· Barnes & Noble To Shutter Another Location [Racked]
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More from the candy beat this morning: Yesterday's 
CHELSEA—We've got an update on the 
