Eighth Street's Shoe Stores Give Way to Hipster Retail

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For years now, Eighth Street in the Village has been known mostly for its dwindling supply of underpopulated shoe stores. But as the Daily News points out, the strip is undergoing a revival. Stumptown Coffee is moving in, as is a boutique hotel. And look at this list of recent openings:

In the past six months, a bakery owned by friends from Gambia, a textile store with weaving classes owned by twentysomethings from Brooklyn, and a store selling jugs of microbeers called Growler Station have come to one stretch joining a downstairs wine bar restaurant and upscale hair salon owned by a Japanese stylist.

Naturally, Jeremiah of Vanishing New York has nothing good to say about the changes. (He's also skeptical of the claim, from one hotelier, that "The beats hung out here, and in a way, hipsters of today are the beatniks of yesterday.") But aside from the classic gentrification story, there's another angle here. Eighth Street used to be known as a place to buy clothes, but all the new retail seems to be of the social, not fashion, variety. Wonder how long it takes before a trendy boutique decides to move in.
· West Village thoroughfare looks to upgrade from shaky retail past [NYDN]
· 8th St. Hypergentrified [Vanishing New York]