Downtown Storefront Incubator Program Selects Six Concepts for Summer Debut
The Downtown Alliance, which operates Lower Manhattan’s Business Improvement District, has designated winners for its RE:Store competition, in which more than 300 applicants vied for the use of rent-free, pop-up retail space in Lower Manhattan, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
“RE:Store is about creating real opportunities for small businesses to grow, experiment and connect with new audiences in Lower Manhattan,” Alliance president Jessica Lappin said. “We are thankful for the property owners who have worked with us to make these spaces available for these entrepreneurs.”
Brooklyn-based artist Francesca Furian is the proprietor of Dimorae Home and Francis’ World: Living with Art. Her new store at 190 Front Street will feature the convergence of art, design and everyday objects with hand-printed artworks, stationery, tableware, and home goods.
At 2 Broadway, Plus BKLYN: Bigger in Manhattan will offer secondhand and vintage plus-size fashions, aiming to create an inclusive, community-driven space for people often left out of traditional retail.
New York Food Stories by Kitchen Art and Letters will bring to 111 Broadway a bookstore dedicated to food and drink, focused on New York’s extraordinary culinary traditions.
At 225 Broadway, Brooklyn Craft Company’s Summer in the City will stock an eclectically curated selection of DIY supplies for all making needs, including yarn, fabric, notions, kits, and gifts, while also offering a rotating menu of drop-in crafting opportunities.
The Numero Group NYC Pop Up will bring to 186 Front Street that archival record label’s definitive box sets, vinyl reissues, CDs, tapes and more.
And 192 Front will be the summer home of Element Brooklyn’s Gallery of Scent, a sustainable brand that manufactures and sells soaps, candles, diffusers, body care, hair care and cleaning products. The store will feature a scent gallery, where customers will be able to smell and rate 20 different scent notes and then receive a “scent portrait,” a Polaroid-style print with the colors of their chosen notes. The store will host candle-pouring workshops and feature a refill bar with 10 fragrances on tap, where customers can bring their own bottle or select from a wall of vintage ceramics and glassware from local thrift shops.
In addition to a free storefront, each will receive up to $15,000 in grant funding for fit-out and operating expenses. Participants will also benefit from expert advice about design, permitting, and insurance.
This boost for businesses from the Alliance is needed in Lower Manhattan. An analysis from the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce published in April indicated that the community has the highest retail vacancy rate, at 22.11 percent, of any district in the borough.
The Chamber of Commerce metrics echoed those of a report published at the end of last year by the City’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS), which found that Community Board 1 (defined roughly as Manhattan south of Canal, Pearl, and Baxter Streets, and the Brooklyn Bridge) has the highest retail vacancy rate of any district in the five boroughs. Among 2,243 storefronts located within CB1, 23.81 percent (or 535 locations) were unoccupied. This represented a slight improvement from the 2024 vacancy rate of 24.12 percent, which was also the highest anywhere in New York City. SBS says that the average storefront within CB1 employs 10.86 staff and pays $45,933 in annual sales taxes. These metrics suggest that vacant retail spaces in Lower Manhattan represent more than 6,000 lost jobs and $25.5 million in annual tax revenue forgone.