Founder Files: New Shops in NY, Bacon-Fried Potato Salad & a Tinned Fish and Condiment Board

Something I’ve noticed: Creative founders of food and home companies are doubling down on shops. My theories on why: 1) The isolation of the pandemic made people understand that as much as we may annoy one another, we also really need to be together in person. 2) The internet is becoming a largely commoditized place dominated by a few soulless behemoths (AI for info, Amazon for basics, Meta for social). 3) If you have a brand and you haven’t already built a following online, the physical world is the next best way to reach and connect with people.

Shopping and eating out are becoming our dominant forms of offline entertainment. A few local stand-outs I’ve admired over the past year or two:

• Locavore Variety Store – As described on their Instagram: “Purveyors of Local Good, in more ways than one. It’s a shop about New York! It’s a shop about shopping!” Locavore opened last week in the West Village; Caroline Weaver, the owner, previously founded CW Pencil Enterprise, a hyper-niche store that sold, yes, pencils to its deeply enthusiastic fans.
• Big Night – A bright, lively shop for parties now has locations in Greenpoint and the West Village, and Katherine Lewin, the owner, just published a hosting and party guide and cookbook.
• First Bloom – Alison Roman, the cookbook author and personality, opened a food shop in Bloomville, NY in 2023.
• The Six Bells and The Six Bells Inn – Audrey Gelman, the founder of the women-focused social club and co-working space The Wing, started with a housewares store with a country vibe in Brooklyn in 2022 and is now expanding to an 11-room, Catskills inn in Rosendale, NY.

Note: All of the above are founded by women—women are out there making cool things!

A similar brick-and-mortar development is happening locally in home furnishings:

• Nickey Kehoe – This interior design firm and LA store opened a NY location in the East Village in early June.
• Quarters – A showroom and event space created by In Common With, which designs snazzy lighting.

And if you want to go deeper on what this all means, check out Shopkeeping by Peter Miller, a new book with advice and stories about store ownership.

Erika, our CEO, published Nobody Cares About Your Career, a book about working and how to be great at it, no matter what you do. One of the many reasons I wanted Erika to join Food52 was because of her work ethic, directness, creativity, and emotional intelligence. She distilled all of these qualities into tips and advice in her practical and inspiring book—check it out!

• This silicone broom and dustpan, which cleans up wet and dry spills, has been a surprise bestseller. You might want to take a look if you haven’t already.

• César took advantage of all the fancy tinned fish that’s now available and zhuzhed some up for a summery board of eggs, olives, and “seacuterie.” If you need help sourcing specialty tinned seafood, try the Tinned Fish Market. And if you need just the right board for your spread, you’re already in the right place.

• Nea created a bacon-fried potato salad with chèvre that contains every food group that matters to us.

• Allison tested a storage method for basil—you keep it out of the fridge (and out of the sun) in a plastic quart container with a little water and the lid slightly ajar. After 5 days, it was nearly as fresh as when she started—success! Have any other summer produce tips she can test? Share them with me at [email protected]

• Our content team is now dressing alike, which we think is good but also might mean we’ve started a cult.

• If you don’t yet have resealable silicone bags for your kitchen, it’s time. I no longer buy small disposable plastic bags. Silicone is not a perfect material—it doesn’t break down easily in the environment—but it’s more easily reusable and that makes a difference. We’re also coming upon Plastic-Free July, a good excuse to pause on single-use plastic for the month!

Yours in shopping and eating out, as well as in!

Amanda

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