shopping on franklin

Shopping On Franklin: 1. Word, 2. TBA, 3. TBA, 4. PA Grocery,
5. Alter, 6. Dalaga, 7. Pencil Factory, 8. The Queen's Hideaway,
9. Greenpoint Coffee House, 10. Franklin Corner Store,
11. Brooklyn Label, 12. Casa Mon Amour, 13. Hayden-Harnett

With a flurry of recent retail activity, Franklin Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn* (see map) is developing into a new shopping destination. Just a year ago, Franklin Street was entirely dusty and dug up by road crews, and looked more like the urban frontier. The only retail activity happening during the weekday afternoon was at the corner bodegas, laundromats and the seemingly single 'outpost of cool' Greenpoint Coffee House (#9).

There were also some hidden gems though, like Rudy's, where I would get the best egg sandwich with the tastiest hot sauce and delicious coffee (now sadly gone and changed hands to Brooklyn Label, #11) and the Franklin Corner Store (#10; still in business, thankfully), with an extensive menu of creative sandwiches at great prices, from $2.50-$7. I recommend the "New Mexico" with black bean dip, eggplant, tomatoes, hold the lettuce, pepper, jack cheese, avocado, jalapeno and pressed for $5.50. Delicious. But I digress.

I thought it necessary at this point in Franklin Street's retail development to create a new feature for the blog, Shopping on Franklin. For the past weeks, I have been out taking photos** and gathering field notes about this new retail culture. I will be bringing you individual portraits of four new stores***, which I think you will enjoy.

• Dalaga. Opened June 2006. Designer-owned boutique featuring the Dalaga label and other hot women's and men's clothing collections, jeans, shoes, handbags and jewelry. Very affordable. Nice surprises. (#6 above)
• Hayden-Harnett. Opened March 2007. Designer-owned boutique featuring the complete Hayden-Harnett luxury leather goods collections including handbags and small accessories (also carried at Barneys Coop!) and showcasing their complete clothing line, which is not to be missed. (#13 above)
• Alter. Opened February 2007. Designer-owned shop featuring the deconstructed/reconstructed Alter label, jewelry, denim, and affordable men's and women's clothing. (#5 above)
• Word. Opened March 2007. A bookstore featuring the latest fiction and non-fiction, stationery, gifts, tees by Modern Planet and a dedicated children's section. (#1 above)

Stay tuned!


*Greenpoint is my neighborhood and Franklin is my street. I can give you the day-to-day blow-by-blow.
**How do you like my Franklin Street storefront collage?
***Four new stores at the time of this post. As more stores open, I will bring you the news.