Two is a trend when it's this random. What's up with faux-restaurant sneaker shops? First, Philly starts selling sneakers from an undercover Chinese joint, and now New York's latest sneaker shop is disguised as a soul food counter.
At SoleFood NYC, you can check out rare Nikes or bring in your own sneaks to be customized by local graffiti artists. The sneakers are stored in deli-style display cases, and you can try them on while hanging out at diner-style booths.
SoleFood NYC does one-up the Philly joint: On Sundays, they even operate as a bit of a real restaurant, too. You can take your new kicks home along with a takeout container full of collard greens, candied yams, and other soul food goodies.
We've heard plenty about secret bars hidden behind restaurants and down dark alleys, but secret sneaker shops has got to be a new one.
That's the case with Abakus Takeout, a new footwear mecca in Philadelphia's Chinatown that comes complete with an imitation Chinese takeout joint atmosphere.
D.B.A Brooklyn is a boutique specializing in the holy trinity of casual fashion essentials: t-shirts, jeans and sneakers. Opened a little over two weeks ago by a trio of New York natives, it's a small space that's packed with wares and boasts a bold, eye-catching design.
The walls are lined with an impressive stock of exclusive designer kicks ranging from neon New Balances and Nikes to dressy Spring Courts to all-leather Converse. Further inside, there are t-shirts, art books and vinyl figurines.
On weekends, D.B.A plays host to hip hop DJs, and people hang out on the stoop outside. The atmosphere is laid back and the wares are treated like works of art. D.B.A has Lucite cases holding ultra-rare Nikes while vinyl figurines from the owners' private collection and sneakers with high-three-figure price tags line the upper shelves.
Geeky Philly: What to do once you've seen the lightsabers and droids at the Star Wars show.
True, the reason we skipped down to Philly was for Star Wars. But sneaker junkies and sci-fi shows go hand in hand. Just ask Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco.
So we had to stop at Ubiq on Walnut Street. The spot's in a Victorian townhouse that's been refurbished into a spaceship-sleek footwear boutique. Downstairs, limited edition Nikes and house label kicks line the shelves. Upstairs, an entire room is stocked with Vans. Ubiq also has cool accessories and a selection of street-savvy hipster magazines. (And, yep, the staff to match.)
If all that makes it sound like Ubiq is too hip to be geeky, know this: The shop has a blog.
