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Earlier this month we learned that after more than four decades in the East Village, kitsch mecca Love Saves the Day will close. Yesterday we dropped by and, with owner Richie Herson's approval, took some photos of the eclectic boutique—an activity that's ordinarily forbidden. By the way, it's a great time to stop by and pick up some Christmas gifts while paying your respects; the store has slashed prices 30%-50%.
Martin Ruginis, who's been working there for 15 years, said that he "just wants the store to close already" because he's "tired of hearing customers tell him how upset they are about it." According to Ruginis, the best selling product is the fake pile of shit. It used to be called doo doo, but it wasn't selling well so they changed the name to shit and could barely keep it on the shelves. As if to tempt fate, the late Leslie Herson, who opened the store in 1966, then changed it back to doo doo because she didn't like the profanity. Sales plummeted again, so she relented and changed the name yet again in order to sell more shit.
Reached by phone, Richie Herson dismissed the possibility of a benefactor stepping in to save Love Saves the Day (MySpace), floated by Racked, and told us he'll be out by the first week in January. (But for the die hards, there's still a second location in New Hope, Pennsylvania.) It's not known what will rise up in place of the Second Avenue location, but Ruginis predicts it will become a restaurant, further contributing to lower Second Avenue's transformation into "a food court." And Vanishing New York wonders what will become of Karen, the woman who vends outside the shop.
Photos and additional reporting by Katie Sokoler.
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nice photos!
thanks.
sad to see this place go.
i left brooklyn 20 years ago and live in ca. now.
i always check in to see whats up.
this and other places biting the dust really make me kind of sad.
i know change is inevitable but this place rocked!
i dread to think what will open in its place.
all the best to the owners.
The woman who runs or was working in the New Hope store was mean to me when she saw that I had a camera. I had no intention of taking photos inside the store but she snapped at me and was eying me up the entire time.
$10 each for those smurfs!
Wow, I had tons of those growing up. Never thought each one could have gone for 10 bucks.
All I remember about this place was the smell. Imagine having a bunch of old things that everyone touched for years and kept in their basements and attics and all brought together in one place. Yep, that's how it smelled.
This is a tragedy. First the Electric Circus and now this.
Good bye CB's, good bye Continental, Goodbye Dojo's', good bye Community Center, good bye Coney island and coney island high. Fuck u very much NYC and NYU.
I'm torn here folks. On the one hand I'm sorry to see an independent business that's been around FOREVAH get priced out. On the other hand I'm kinda happy to see this place close. Why? Because their prices are insanely high, and they treat their customers like shit. So I want to take a picture in the store - big fucking deal! What's the problem with taking a picture in the store? I'm not a tourist, but if I was I'd probably take a picture, take it home to Bumblefuck, USA and show it to all my stupid, fat, diabetic friends and say "You got to go see this place!" Then they come to town, come into the store and hopefully buy something. If I owned a store like that, and someone wanted to take a picture, I'd say "Would you like a complimentary reacharound too?" and I'd mean it. What I wouldn't do, that LSD does, is put up obnoxious signs that threaten people's children and illustrates what a crotchety A-HOLE I am.
Also, the prices. WTF? 10 bucks for a Playboy from the 70's? Is that the sale price? There's about a ZILLION of those out there, and I'd imagine the owners have access to tons of it. So cut the prices in half on everything and move tons of shit through there. Come to think of it, I've never really seen anyone actually buying stuff in there during the 100 times I've been in.
When does the store close for real, because I'm thinking of going in on the last day and taking an actual doo-doo in the store - potentially right on Chairy.
^ Yet another teary-eyed testimonial? Get over it already, they're closing and that's that.
(yeah, that was sarcasm)
Yeah, I'm kinda sad to see the place go too, but nothing lasts forever. People whining and crying over the changes happening to the city really do have to get over it. NYC's time has come and gone long ago. All of the weirdness, grit, and artsy-fartsy stuff has to go propagate somewhere else now where it can be fresh and exciting for someone else.
Enough of this sentimental shit. When's the new Duane Reade/Chipotle/American Apparel moving in???
Did I miss something? Where was this place again? Was it a coffee shop? Someone mentioned Playboy magazines above, was it a news stand? What?
To CR - I'm right there with ya......
Can't take a pic of lunch boxes? screw ya
buh bie
I'm usually not this blunt but I'm saying it. This place sold a lot of used crap for ridiculous prices.
I was walking around the neighborhood last week. Noticed the sign and said, "Damn, it's about time."
As much as I hate to see something that's been around forever go like that, I never went in because it became one of those used "vintage" overpriced pieces of shit boutiques that have sprung up all over the city.
Any decent used products in places like salvation army, good will, etc. Are being bought up and priced up to sell at places like this. Fuck it and good riddance to it and any place like that.
yes it was a fucking shit hole but it wasn't a starbucks and if you think starbucks is affordable then fuck you and your trust fund.
I must agree with #13; it was a fun place to visit but being a toy collector and vintage enthusiast I found it to be very overpriced and not a fun atmosphere like many other retro toy stores I have visited. Maybe it used to be a novel to have a store full of Smurfs and A-Team lunchboxes but now it's old hat. They needed to lighten up.
Toy Tokyo is right beside that place and is much better for toy collectors anyway. I bought the Gorillaz set for $40 there last year(regular price $150).
Sokoler! - Rad photos, really great...
They were overpriced because they had to pay a ridiculous rent. Think of how affordable this town would be if rents were realistic.
Am I lame? I can't see the pictures.
Nice photos! Artfully done.