Meet 9th Street

The warmly painted walls inside Veselka envelop the room in folky florals and traditional Ukrainian symbols. Hanging from the ceiling are glowing milk glass globes that seem to replace the sun or moon depending on the time of day — and it could be any time at all, as Veselka is open for twenty-four hours, seven days a week, serving a smorgasbord of pierogis, bowls of borscht, and other expertly prepared comfort foods — Ukrainian and otherwise. Wlodymyr Darmochwal planted roots for Veselka when, as one of the founders of the neighborhood Plast organization (akin to the Ukrainian boy scouts, teaching survival skills and Ukrainian language), he was asked to create a weekend study program for the boys. In response, he opened a five-and-dime style counter at the corner of East 9th Street and Second Avenue where the boys could buy paper clips, cigarettes, lighters, and, notably, bowls of borscht and other basic Ukrainian foods. The business expanded into another storefront on East 9th Street a decade later. After Wlodymyr’s passing in 1972, it was taken over by his stepson, Tom Birchard, who was later joined by his son, Jason. Today, having worked at the restaurant since he was a teenager, Jason has “done every single job possible here except cook the borscht. ”When Jason joined the team, one of his first projects was to find out, “How late can we stay open? ” It turns out the answer was “all night. ” As Tom and Jason once again prepare to expand the restaurant into an adjoining storefront on 9th Street, they are eager to continue serving the next generation the kind of traditional Ukrainian food that Wlodymyr would have had at his counter more than sixty years ago.

Shahrzad Ghajar, founder of the gift shop Spooksvilla + friends, takes curation to another level. She meets with each of the artists represented in the store and personally chooses every piece showcased on the walls and shelves. Shahrzad, herself, is a talented artist, and many of her designs are featured in the shop. By focusing on the artists, Spooksvilla ensures that everything for sale - from apparel to wall art - is one-of-a-kind. “We like to be representative of original people doing original things— be it art, products, charms or any other kind of cool item, " said Ethan Velez, manager of Spooksvilla. Despite the fact that multiple artists contribute to Spooksvilla, the store is not a hodgepodge of styles. Rather, the art is united in its bold, whimsical designs. A favorite is the label on the bottle of the rose bath salts - a piece of art in itself. A woman with purple skin and purple hair rides a pink dragon, holding, of course, roses.

Serving an interesting but decadent assortment of coffees, hot cakes, desserts, Japanese tapas, sandwiches, pasta, and more, Hi-Collar functions as many things. In the morning the atmosphere is subdued and relaxed like a coffee shop, as customers come to enjoy “kissaten” – a term to describe Japanese-style coffee shops. The lady we spoke to at Hi-Collar told us their coffee selection is extensive and that there are a variety of beans to choose from. Not only is there the opportunity to select the bean varietal, but one can also choose how the coffee is made as well: pour over, aeropress, or siphon—each method drawing out a distinct flavor. For the non-coffee drinker, there are teas and even a fruit milkshake. As the afternoon wears on and evening approaches, Hi-Collar becomes a bar complete with wine, sake, and beer. Inquiring about the name, we found that Hi-Collar is in fact a term that came to be during the Japanese Jazz Age, when Western culture infiltrated Japan and many men were seen wearing Western style high collars. The only seating available is at the long bar, and the beautiful flowers and lamps that hang from the ceiling add to the allure of this multifaceted nook on 10th.

We cannot seem to pass the window of this contemporary art gallery without becoming mesmerized by the exhibits inside. From the curation to the art itself, The Phatory is a pleasant and eye-catching stop among the neighboring galleries on the block.

The essence of Duo is in its name; it is two things at once. It is dulled colors and clean lines, minimalist in feel but simultaneously filled with warmth and softness. Both young and old, vibrant and calm, it is modern and fresh but brings to mind memories of simpler times: of handwritten letters, cozy Sunday afternoons and soft breezes over the wide open fields of northern Minnesota, the owners’ home state. Conflicting and complementing all at once, Duo is the product of two minds at work. Sisters Wendy and LaRae Kangas have created a perfect little fashion oasis that fits right in with the small town vibes of Manhattan’s East Village. Growing up, Wendy and LaRae pestered each other and fought over clothes, as siblings will do, but in 2008 they decided to open up a shop together. Today, they work with dealers and emerging independent designers throughout the country and pick all their clothing, accessories and home goods by hand, combining masculine and feminine styles with modern silhouettes and vintage traces to curate a timeless collection of quality, classic pieces. “It’s a very personal process, ” they told me, “and we put a lot of love into our shop and our collections. ” Nothing at Duo is mass-produced, and most of their merchandise is recycled. The sisters pour their hearts into the shop and work hard to stay true to themselves while keeping an eye toward the future, expanding their business into the world of e-commerce and social media. “It’s important to stay current and give the customers what they want, ” they said. They love what they do, and working with family makes it even more fun, according to the sisters. “It makes work smooth when you don’t have to verbalize what you’re thinking, ” they told me, “We just know what each other is thinking and it makes choosing products and daily operations much easier. ”Duo is a celebration of creative spirit. It is clear that the sisters revel in the one-of-a-kind individuality of each and every one of their customers who come to them looking for pieces that will express their own unique style. When explaining what they love about their work, they said, “It’s great to make a customer feel better when they walk out the door. ”

Tucked into a cozy storefront on E9th Street, Pillow-Cat Books is — for any literary-minded animal lover — the cat’s meow. Guarded by the shop’s namesake cat, the bookstore opened by author Cleo Le-Tan is the city’s first animal-themed bookshop, offering new, used and vintage books across genre and language with one uniting theme — at least one animal or animal character within its pages. Cleo, a New York-based writer and the daughter of famed New Yorker illustrator Pierre Le-Tan, was inspired to open Pillow-Cat Books in September 2021 after working on A Book Lover’s Guide to New York, itself a charming tribute to the Big Apple’s best independent bookstores. “I interviewed people who have bookshops, and then I realized, ‘Oh, I want my own! ” she told the Manhattan Sideways team when we happened upon her eclectic collection one sunny Friday. She began to curate and source a stock of animal-themed works, finding special joy in hard-to-find tomes from years past. “I love vintage children’s books from the 1950s and 1960s, ” said Cleo, surrounded by books available to shop by category of animal as well as subject matter. Cleo told Manhattan Sideways that settling down in the East Village on 9th Street among the block’s many other speciality retail shops was one of her favorite parts about running Pillow-Cat. “I think it's a really nice block — I like how many independent, unique shops there are, ” she noted. “It’s a fun block because you get people coming from Tompkins Square Park who are friendly and local, but you also get visitors. ” We’d have to agree — as we browsed the shop, we already noticed several grateful visitors building their own stacks, making sure to give Pillow-Cat a pet on their way out. 

Since 1985, D. L. Cerney has been a treasure-trove for any lover of vintage clothing. Heedless of changing fashion and consumer trends, as well as the general loss of public appreciation for well-made, long lasting, beautiful clothing that they have noticed, creators Linda St. John and Duane Cerney continue to stay true to their increasingly rare style. The creation of D. L. Cerney was entirely serendipitous: Linda and John arrived in Manhattan in 1984 to visit a friend with the intention of staying only for the week. Instead, they fell in love with the city. The ease with which they obtained their much-loved, first location on 7th Street was like “magic, " as was the contents of their store. As great admirers of vintage clothes, both Linda and Duane used all of their money throughout their 20s to amass the collection — culminating in the 26-foot U-Haul full of unworn, vintage clothes in the original factory boxes that they would sell in their new store. Knowing their collection was finite and irreplaceable, Linda and Duane began to slowly reproduce the vintage clothing they loved, relying on their far-reaching background with clothing design and creation. Linda taught herself to sew when she was 12 and always loved the beauty of well-made clothing. "We were so poor I would go to the junk stores. I looked at what rich ladies were throwing away and knew it was out of style, but marveled at the quality, " Linda explained. "And the quality of clothing back then lasted until around the late 60s because the consumer… expected quality for their money. Quality’s out the window now — it’s all hype, advertising, and just total BS. "Linda creates “statement maker” clothing in the style of the 1930s through 60s and emphasizes “quality, flattering fit, and beautiful fabrics. ” After closing their 7th St. location in 2013 and opening a studio in upstate New York, in 2017 the East Village once again had the good fortune of having D. L. Cerney open in the neighborhood. Today on 9th Street, D. L. Cerney enjoys a dedicated following of long-term customers and newcomers alike. The store also frequently provides clothes for period piece TV shows as well as numerous Broadway plays, including The Color Purple, Memphis and South Pacific. Linda's designs are influenced by Broadway, old movies, her research and her own memories. As we walked through her store, she excitedly pointed out a few of her favorites, including brightly patterned blouses in the style she remembers her aunts wearing, the timeless, high-waisted “field trouser” that dominate almost all old Hollywood movies and a row of reversible, wool jackets in the style of the '50s reversible jacket fad. Passing by a patterned tent dress with wide, square front-pockets, she plucked it off the rack and deemed it perfect for a day at the beach “with a pair of little red tennis shoes. ”D. L. Cerney not only displays clothing, but is also Linda's studio. “When I’m not busy with people, I am working with all my projects, ” she said. These projects include her critically acclaimed memoir, Where Dogs Go to Die, as well as her exhibit of dolls, 1000 Skinny Girls in a Dirt Yard, shown in the American Visionary Art Museum. The dolls’ clothing features junk food wrappers, potato bags and other traditionally discarded items. Linda is especially frustrated that many fashion businesses use plastic in their fabrics and wishes that more people would be interested in investing in clothing with fabrics that are wonderful, last for a long time, and naturally decompose.

With a chuckle, Santo Mollica told us that he and his wife began their small business after a mix-up with a psychedelic church and the fire department. Santo and Margaret had been living in the East Village since 1979, making a living at various odd jobs. In the evenings, they would host everything from concerts to magic shows in their apartment, until one evening, firemen showed up at their door. Neighbors had called about the raucous church nearby, but they showed up at Santo and Margaret's home by mistake and shut down their performance space, which technically violated city code. It was time to take on a project that was a little more official. Santo decided to centralize some of his odd jobs under one roof, and in 1982, the couple opened The Source Unltd Print & Copy Shop. From its early days, their business “took on a life of its own. ” Santo had been doing layouts for his friends in the arts and music world and taking them elsewhere to be printed. He then began to specialize in printing and copying at the Source, something almost unheard of at the time. Santo describes the evolution of The Source over the decades in a humble way, but it took a lot of ingenuity to keep up with the changing landscape of the East Village and the rapid pace of technology. Initially specializing in layout and design, Santo and Margaret learned to convert VHS tapes to DVDs and cassettes to CDs. Today they do a lot of business online in addition to printing stickers and business cards, creating custom hardwood stamps, scanning, binding, laminating, and selling everything from batteries to sidewalk chalk. Though Santo is always adapting his shop and adding new items, he says that “it’s really about the people, not the things. ” The East Village veterans mentor retailers who are new on the street, and they have built relationships with customers from all walks of life. They have also been running a food drive in their store for over twenty years. “Sometimes people come in and give, other times they take, ” says Santo. Santo and Margaret are soft spoken individuals, but you do not survive for over thirty years on 9th street without a certain amount of resourcefulness. For example, in the mid 2000s, Santo had to run a generator on the sidewalk for over a year to provide electricity for the store. The reduced electricity, Santo said, was part of an effort to push them out. After a prolonged legal battle, the proprietors of The Source won. “We just wanted to serve the community and be fair and honest in all our dealings, ” Santo added with a shrug. Santo and Margaret are never looking for a fight, but it is clear they are not afraid of one, either. When we asked the couple, in early 2018, if they ever thought about retirement, even their dog Curtis looked amused. “Retirement? I don’t know what that means, ” Margaret replied. Smiling, Santo added that those who work for bureaucracies or corporations can often pack up one day and stop going to work, but, “We work for ourselves. We love it. And we have to keep it up to survive. The neighborhood is always evolving, but we can’t think of a place we’d rather be. ”

The idea for the skateboard/streetwear brand Fucking Awesome (FA for short) started with professional skater Jason Dill. Henry, FA’s store manager, shared with Manhattan Sideways that Jason got the idea to start his own brand in the early 2000s, but first stuck to tee shirts and stickers for friends. Eventually, his brand was large enough to sell what FA is now known for—skateboards. The company quickly became popular since it was exclusive - only "real" skateboarding shops could carry their boards. Though Jason opened his first location in Hollywood, not New York, he dreamed of having a location in the city. As a large portion of his skating career was in NYC, Jason wanted to build up the skating community for everyone here, according to Henry. Ultimately, he found the perfect spot for his shop - a block from Tompkins Square Park, "where allthe skaters hang out, " and opened FA's NYC location in 2021.

Amanda Dolan and Meagan Colby have a wild, wacky, sparkly, and generally outrageous sense of style. On 9th street, they fit right in. Spark Pretty, their pop-up shop turned permanent storefront, has garnered plenty of attention since opening in the East Village in September 2017. The Manhattan Sideways team was eager to learn more about the story behind the store, and so we caught up with Amanda and Meagan on a quiet Tuesday in January. After stepping inside, the term “visual lifestyle brand” will make perfect sense to even the most fashion-hapless visitor. Amanda and Meagan have transformed the space from floor to ceiling with a spectacular collage of posters, lights, memorabilia, and clothing that is a work of art in itself. The design is anything but random. It does not take long to realize that everything has been carefully curated to reflect a particular aesthetic from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, and that when it comes to the clothing, a great deal of effort has gone into acquiring each vintage dress, pant, jumpsuit, skirt, jacket, and curated T-shirt. In fact, Spark Pretty is the result of a lifelong passion for iconoclastic style. Amanda, who grew up in Greenwich, CT, stuck out among her peers who dressed in the "latest shades of beige. " She cites childhood visits to thrift shops with her grandmother as one of the reasons she enjoys looking different. Meanwhile, in California, Meagan made fashion statements of her own, whether it was with purple hair, piercings, or a pair of oversized dad jeans. The two women agree that they were lucky. They always knew who they were and what they wanted to wear to reflect their personalities. Careful not to come off as shaking their fingers at the younger generation, the pair insist that searching for buried treasures in bins and boxes helped them hone their personal style in a way that has become less common in the internet age. "Sometimes you don’t know what you are looking for until you find it, " Meagan admitted. The two friends first met as stylists working at Betsey Johnson, but when the retail chain filed for bankruptcy, they decided to strike out on their own. As part of their inventory at Spark Pretty, they have a selection of one-off items from the Betsey Johnson showroom. Both women agreed that working at Betsey Johnson was their "apprenticeship. " After over fifteen years of friendship, road trips, and shopping, the Spark Pretty brand was born. Now, along with in-house designer Thomas Knight (whose custom work has appeared on Usher, Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Rihanna), they are sharing their treasures with the world. During our conversation, something else became clear: Amanda and Meagan are committed to the East Village community. When it came time to decide on a permanent location, they discovered that 9th street made perfect sense. For one, it is a great shopping street with funk that fits the Spark Pretty vibe. More than that, they immediately recognized that it is a real neighborhood with a "tight knit family of fellow small business owners, " the type of place where they can plant real roots. That is not to say that running the store is easy. Even if their work is a labor of love, there is still plenty of labor involved and Amanda and Meagan have set high expectations for themselves. “9th Street is magical, ” said Amanda. "This is our little jewel box. "

We had no idea just how fabulous Fabulous Fanny’s antique and vintage eyewear was until we met the owner and he told us that his store carries eyeglasses dating back to the 1700’s – one of the frames having been made by the first gentleman to ever manufacture sunglasses in America.

The newest installment to 9th Street's vintage wear clothiers is one that specializes in fashion from the 1920's, 30's and 40's. Scattered throughout there are antique dolls and toys, taxidermied animals and many more oddities.