Store Sidekicks: Monty at Yoko Devereaux

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This is Store Sidekicks, a new end-of-the-week feature where we profile the fuzzy wuzzy creatures that inhabit shops across the city. If you'd like to nominate your favorite store animal, drop us a line at tips@racked.com.

This may be the most poignant Store Sidekicks post we ever run: The handsome tabby above, Monty, is the store cat at South Williamsburg menswear boutique Yoko Devereaux, which announced that it was closing this past Monday. Monty himself will be fine (as, we suspect, will Yoko creator Andy Salzer, who's been busy all week running an insanely popular sale) but he's a social guy, and it seems safe to assume he'll miss interacting with customers.

Yoko Devereaux sits beneath the elevated J/M/Z on a busy stretch of Broadway. Salzer lives in a well-appointed apartment behind the boutique, and Monty has his run of the place. His favorite activity: Sitting in the store window, befriending the people who walk past. When we dropped by to, uh, interview him, he attracted a mom and two small boys who stood outside, playing with him through the glass. You might also remember him in the window in the NYT's review of the shop; for a cat, he seems to have his media strategy set.

At the moment, Monty's living in the middle of a retail frenzy. When Yoko Devereaux's closing sale begin on Tuesday at 8am, there was a line of people waiting outside the shop—today, all that's left are t-shirts in XL and XXL. For the next few weeks, Salzer will be selling off the store's fixtures and furniture. Then, he'll try to find his next project, presumably one that will allow Monty more time in the spotlight.
· Discontinued: Hipster Ambassador Yoko Devereaux Shuts Down
· Above the Fray: Yoko Devereaux's Goodbye Sale