Storefronting
Sophie Bille Brahe, Gem Home, BOMI, East Fork, Oroboro, Gotham, Lure Fishbar, NYE reservations, Beauty Supply, Taverna Kyclades, best holiday provisions, MORE
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shops
Boutique crawl
Four new stores for holiday shopping inspiration, from the Upper East Side to Boerum Hill.
ONE FLIGHT UP: Understated boutique BOMI (above, left) is found on the second-story of a Soho loft building. Owner Bomi Jin chose the location hoping it’d be grounding for customers to ascend a flight of stairs to enter her shop of hard-to-find home goods, skincare products, and accessories. Jin wants her customers to understand the story behind the products she features, so she runs a steady stream of in-store events with brand founders — recently, the owner of cult haircare brand Sándor taught scalp massage techniques using its bian stone gua sha comb. Elegantly and exactingly curated, compulsively shoppable, and a treasure slightly hidden in plain sight, it’s about as perfect a niche Soho shopping experience as you’ll find. –Caitlin Pangares
→ Shop: BOMI (Soho) • 54 Mercer St, 2nd Fl • Wed-Sat 11-7p, Sun 12-6p.
RARE GEM: Chef and Gem Wine proprietor Flynn McGarry recently opened Gem Home (above, center), a café, grocery, and home goods store in Nolita. The space is airy, with Donald Judd-inspired furniture among its midcentury-meets-shaker aesthetics. It opens into minimally merchandised shelves, a fridge with prepared foods, and dried flowers and produce displayed in wicker baskets. Offset rooms house additional wares like antique wooden egg cups, a selection of Gem-branded spice mixtures, and items sourced from friends of the staff, like the first ever bottling of Inez olive oil. The cavernous back room is accented with a brick red, large-scale textile and rows of communal tables for customers. At the counter, excellent sandwiches come out around 1130a, and sell out fast. In a city brimming with shoppy shops and all-day cafes, the elegance of McGarry’s hand-selected stylings and stock make Gem Home a standout. –CP
→ Shop: Gem Home (Nolita) • 181 Mott St • Wed-Sun 9a-6p.
JEWEL BOX: Fine jewelry designer Sophie Bille Brahe (above, right) recently opened her first U.S. store on the Upper East Side, invigorating the neighborhood’s storied shopping district with a dose of Danish cool. The second-floor space opens into an elegant sitting room with wide windows and shadow boxes featuring select pieces from Brahe’s full line. Try on her signature “escargot” spiral bezel-set rings, pearl bow earrings, and graduating tennis necklaces in person, though exclusively by private appointment for now — in 2025, the store’s hours will expand to a more classic M-F schedule and additional pieces will be available to browse. –CP
→ Shop: Sophie Bille Brahe (Upper East Side) • 1000 Madison Ave, 2nd Fl • by appointment only.
FORK IN THE ROAD: The renowned Asheville, NC-based pottery brand East Fork (above) faced a challenging fall due to Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on the Blue Ridge. Despite their struggles, East Fork still followed through last month with their plans to open a store in Brooklyn, their third brick-and-mortar location (and first outside the South). For the uninitiated, the brand’s earthy color palette consists of six year-round shades and limited sets of rotating seasonal shades that East Fork’s fans covet and collect. (A current seasonal favorite: Big Sky, a creamy periwinkle blue.) It’s the latest notable addition to a stretch of Atlantic Avenue that’s become a homewares shopping destination in its own right. –Phoebe Fry
→ Shop: East Fork (Boerum Hill) • 377A Atlantic Ave • Tues-Sat 11a-6p, Sun 12-5p.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Sponsor
Gotham grows in Brooklyn
HIGH BROOKLYN: Gotham, the world’s first cannabis concept store, has officially landed in Williamsburg. Located at the iconic Refinery at Domino, Gotham blends art, design, fashion, and culture with New York State’s finest cannabis. Explore cutting-edge lifestyle and fashion pieces from brands like Eckhaus Latta, Collina Strada, Carne Bollente, Porter Yoshida, Jungles Jungles, Extra Vitamins, and more.
Whether you’re discovering your next favorite wardrobe item or your next favorite gummy, Gotham's cannaseurs are ready to meet all your needs. The Williamsburg store is Gotham's third, joining the flagship on Bowery and 3rd Street in the East Village and an outpost on historic Warren Street in Hudson, NY. A fourth Gotham store will open in Chelsea in early 2025. Visit us in-store, shop online, or enjoy delivery straight to your door.
→ Shop: Gotham (Williamsburg) • The Refinery at Domino, 296 Kent Ave • Daily 10a-11p.
GOODS & SERVICES LINKS: Mysterious fragrance brand Avestan opens new shop (with new perfume) in Nolita • Italian menswear brand Boggi Milano opening second NYC store in Midtown • Skims opens first NYC flagship on Fifth Ave • Is NYC still America’s fashion capital? • 50 watches we loved this year • How the internet broke gift guides.
RESTAURANTS • Intel
LURE’D AWAY? Feed Me has been percolating with rumors that Prada, whose Soho retail store sits directly above the basement-dwelling Lure Fishbar, plans to push the seafood spot out to make room for a Prada Cafe or somesuch. The NYPost’s Steve Cuozzo picked up the story yesterday, quoting a source who said “it’s all but a done deal.” However, Lure’s lease isn’t up until 2026, and those who remember the (successful!) #savelurefishbar campaign on Twitter from a decade ago know that Lure owner John McDonald has a passionate, and influential, set of regulars who aren’t afraid to fight for the restaurant. Our guess: This game is just getting started. Meantime, you can reserve.
RESTAURANTS • The Ticket (NYE Redux)
New Year’s Eve at Libertine • prix fixe menu with specials like oeufs mayonnaise avec caviar (above) • Libertine (West Village) • Tue 12/31 @ 615-930p, $125/150 per
New Year’s Eve Omakase at the Sushi Counter • special omakase menu • Sushi Nakazawa (West Village) • Tue 12/31 @ 5, 715, 930p seatings, $360 per
NYE 2024 at Sofreh • 4-course dinner w/ glass of champagne • Sofreh (Prospect Heights) • Tues 12/31 @ 530-930p, $140 per
Previously: New Year’s Eve, Ticketed.
NYC RESTAURANT LINKS: Jose Andres switching things up at Mercado Little Spain, importing steakhouse and more from DC • L&B Spumoni Gardens finally opens Dumbo outpost after 5-year wait • Also in Dumbo, Gran Electrica closing 12/31, flipping into new concept in 2025 • Contento in Harlem closing Dec 21 • Christmas bars make the spirit bright • Which drink trends should we leave behind in 2024?
WORK • Tuesday Routine
Good, clean fun
EMALY BAUM • owner/colorist • Beauty Supply
Neighborhood you work in: Soho
Neighborhood you live in: Ridgewood, Queens
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Usually my assistant Hadiya and I are the first to arrive. I generally start taking clients before everyone else gets there. I love coming in earlier than everyone else because I get to start off the day super slow and mellow, and then get to greet all my staff/coworkers as they trickle in. You can feel the energy shifting from the mellow morning to the day ahead.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We just expanded our salon into a bigger space, so lately, I’ve been doing little tweaks to the space here and there to really make it feel like home.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
My favorite restaurant in NYC right now is Taverna Kyclades, this amazing Greek spot in Astoria. It’s really busy, but somehow, you always get a seat. The staff is friendly, and the food is amazing. I go there at least once a month. I’m also dying to go back to Eyval, a Persian restaurant in Bushwick that I’ve been dreaming about since I was there over the summer.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
I recently went to a Maggie Rogers concert at MSG. She’s such a talented performer — it was like being at church. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a better show.
The girls from the salon and I all did a group Pilates class at Good Day in Williamsburg. Morgan who manages the studio is a favorite client of ours. It’s such a beautiful space and the class was challenging but not intimidating.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
Oh man, I could go on and on. For facials, the place to go in NYC is Sofie Pavitt or Carrie Lindsey — two cool women who not only have magic hands but are interesting and fun to talk to. I love going to the Shibui Spa inside the Greenwich Hotel for massages — so peaceful. I also love a Korean body scrub. I’ve been getting them for years at Tribeca Spa of Tranquility. It’s a no frills spot, but your skin has never felt softer.
For shopping, I love Oroboro on Mott Street. Anytime I go in there I manage to find a really unique piece of clothing that I can’t resist!
WORK LINKS: What if outdoor office spaces weren’t just for tenants • The declining fortunes of Park Ave South office towers that once housed Buzzfeed and Meta • The money is fine, but how ’bout a little attaboy • ‘Perks culture’ is under siege • Crypto is for criming • The (mostly losing) case for holiday party plus-ones.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Holiday provisions
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of NYC's best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Patisserie Vanessa (Upper East Side), canelé that rival the best in Paris