Local Businesses of the Village’s Past and Present

Storefronts, and the businesses that occupy them, are some of the most iconic fixtures in New York City’s streetscape. Our neighborhoods are no different, as local businesses have long been some of the most defining community fixtures. So much so that many images within our historic image archive capture these businesses. In order to make the exploration of these images easy, we will be using the storefront tag in our historic image archive.

Arguably, no business screams community staple more than an diner. For roughly 45 years, Joe Jr.’s restaurant filled this role for many Villagers, in its location at 482 Sixth Avenue, at the corner of 12th Street. In 2009, following a dispute with the landlord, the owners announced that Joe Jr.’s would be closing. The the news was met with outcries from local residents, and despite their hard fought efforts to keep the business open (including distributing petitions), the diner closed later that year.

Another lost neighborhood staple featured in our historic image archive is Kim’s Video and Audio, at its 350 Bleecker Street location (pictured below). Kim’s audio and video began as a rack inside of a dry cleaning shop on St. Marks Place owned by Youngman Kim. Kim’s collection quickly outgrew the shelf, and was moved to its own storefront also on St. Marks Place. Eventually the the businesses expanded to include 6 locations, including the one at 350 Bleecker Street. This Bleecker Street location closed in the early 2000s, and the last Kim’s Video (a location on First Avenue) shuttered in 2014.

Le Figaro Café opened at 184-186 Bleecker Street in 1957 and was noted in a 1959 publication called The Greenwich Village Guide as a place “frequented by the Beat Generation” where “customers sip their coffee over games of chess.” No alcoholic beverages were served. Jack Kerouac, Lenny Bruce, and Bob Dylan are among the notables said to have frequented the café. The original café lasted until 1969, and reopened from 1975 until 2008. A modern interpretation of the cafe, called Figaro, has since opened in the space.

Luckily the Village is still home to many remarkable local businesses, including Myers of Keswick, a British grocery specialty store that has been located at 634 Hudson Street since 1985. The store was opened by Peter Myers of Keswick, England, where his family ran a Butcher shop.

This Hudson Street shop was chosen due to its close proximity to the meat market supplier and because the owner felt the storefront had a charming feel to it, similar to that of a corner hop in England. In 2017, Meyers of Keswick was chosen as a business of the Month by Village Preservation, you can learn more about the business here.

To explore Village Preservation’s Historic image archive, which includes more than 4,500 unique images, click HERE.

Click HERE to learn more about our Business of the Month Program. To nominate a business of your choice click here.