Don't even think about grabbing a pair of glasses from the shelf at Eye Shoppe on 7th and trying them on for yourself. "We're not a self-service store," owner Michael Stoff said. "What makes our glasses work is the fact that we'll sit down with you and help you choose a frame that actually fits your face correctly." He continued: "I don't want to sound like a commercial, but just trust us. We'll do a good job. Quality and service." It's clear that Stoff, who has run the tiny shop on the corner of Seventh Avenue and President Street since 1990 with his wife, Paula, really knows his eyewear, …

Live in the Slope, and looking for shoes? Ask around a little bit, and you're bound to hear the name "Eric" come up at least a few times. Eric Mudick knows his shoes, and has developed a very loyal following since opening his self-named store (formerly known as Girl on Seventh) on Seventh Avenue between Second and Third Streets in 2008. His vast knowledge of shoes goes back to when he was little. My father was in the merchandising/visual side of the business, and he suggested I try retail," Mudick explained. "He traveled around the world for his business, and he taught me the basics. I …

Nora Yockey and Damond Gallagher have one goal: to make you happy, no matter how old you are. If you've ever set foot in Scaredy Kat, the card and gift shop owned by the couple, who were married on July 11th after 13 years together, you'll know that they've succeeded, with flying colors. "We both have a background in theater production, and running the store is like putting on a show, every day," said Nora. "The experience needs to be fun, creative, and interesting." Scaredy Kat first opened its doors back in 1999, in the tiny storefront a block away from their current one, next to Bob and …

To understand Sip Fine Wines, it helps to know that owner Nick DiMinno started off as a sommelier. "I had an idea when I first started planning the store; I wanted to think of it as a big wine list," he said. "This is a small space, but I didn't want that to affect the type of wines sold. We have low-priced wines as well as high-priced, but no two wines are alike." The "wine list" approach is clear when browsing the unpretentious shop, which is on Fifth Avenue between St. Marks and Prospect places in North Slope. Instead of organizing the store by country or varietal, it takes a bit of …

Fifth Avenue in the North Slope has, in recent years, become home to a hodgepodge of vintage and thrift stores. Every weekend, legions of shoppers descend on the stretch, some looking for a bargain, others looking for a whole new wardrobe. One of the newest, and most fun, of these stores is Guvnor's, which opened last year in what was formerly a dilapidated mattress store, most recently home to a vendor known as The Sock Man. Walking into the cavernous store is like walking into some sort of Museum of American clothing. The initial impression can be a little overwhelming, but once you let …

There's been a culinary trend catching on lately: high-quality ingredients, simply cooked, with no frills. By coincidence, that's precisely the Greek way of cooking, and a trend that's been interpreted with great success at Okeanos, the under-the-radar Greek restaurant that opened in January of 2010 on Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street. Owner Tommy Mamounas also owns the neighborhood fixture Donuts Coffee Shop a couple doors down, and decided to open the restaurant in order to "show our Greek heritage," he explained. "We've run the coffee shop for the past 20 years, and wanted to provide …

It's called the Sixth Avenue Deli, but nobody calls it that. Instead, it's referred to as "the bodega," "the grocery," or, in my case, "the corner." That's right: this unassuming storefront on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Sterling Place is my corner store, and it's exactly what you would hope for it to be, which is a great thing. They dot the city's landscape, and can be a lifesaver when you need to use an ATM or grab a sandwich. The traditional Entenmann's cakes, canned goods, sodas, beer, and general household goods are all for sale, along with the usual lottery tickets, ice cream, and …

If you're planning to head out of the city for a hike anytime soon, there's one particular neighborhood storefront you'll need to know about: Gear to Go Outfitters, on Garfield Place just east of Seventh Avenue. The shop is a well-curated boutique that sells the highest quality hiking and camping gear, but it's not just a store—it's an experience. "I've set out to create a real community gathering place for everything camping-related," said owner Kevin Rosenberg, who was formerly a Navy pilot. "We've got a great selection of goods, but we do a lot more than just sell the gear." To understand …

There are some businesses that simply couldn't exist in Manhattan. Bob and Judi's Coolectibles, the quirky vintage housewares shop on Fifth Avenue between Union and President streets, is a perfect example. "We would need to sell high-end antiques if we were going to exist in Manhattan," said Judi Pheiffer, who has run the shop since 1997 along with her husband Bob. "Rents are just too high there. We sell things that are affordable, and much more useful, anyway." It's easy to get lost in the sheer selection of merchandise available at Bob and Judi's, collected over the years from flea markets…

If you happen to be lucky enough to live in a brownstone, especially one that's been renovated within the past 35 years, take a look around and see if you can find any stained glass. There's a good chance that what you find might not be original to the structure, but a handmade reproduction by master craftsman Peter Romano, who singlehandedly runs The Stained Glass Store, on Fifth Avenue between First and Second streets. "The most pride I get is when I walk back into a house I did 20 years ago and the current owners don't even realize that the stained glass came from me," he said. "If my work…

When you think of the phrase "tattoo parlor," what comes to mind?  Maybe it's a grungy dive in the East Village, with equally grungy tattoo artists inking designs chosen from massive books onto burly dudes or squirmish college kids. If you're looking to get that mental image out of your head, drop into The End is Near, a tattoo and piercing parlor on a quiet block on the South Slope/Windsor Terrace border, Seventh between 16th and Windsor Place. "People have a view of what a tattoo shop is, and we're trying to redefine that," said owner Craig Rodriguez, who moved into the neighborhood from a …

In this age of Netflix, Hulu, and rampant video store closings, it's refreshing to find one that still gets it right, with friendly, passionate, knowledgeable employees and a diverse, expertly curated selection. Get Reel Video, on Fifth Avenue and St Marks Place, is the only remaining video store in the North Slope, and it has become a haven for film buffs and casual viewers alike.  Owner Christine Kim opened its doors in July 2005, just as mega-chains like Blockbuster began to give way to the convenience of Netflix. "It just seemed like something fun, something that was needed in the …

"I don't sell chairs any more," said Jack Russo, the friendly, soft-spoken proprietor of Chair Man, the gift store on Fifth Avenue between Lincoln and Degraw. "I used to, though." Russo got his start working in a chair store on the Bowery. In 1982 he opened up a store of his own, on Seventh Avenue between First and Garfield, in a space that has remained vacant since he moved into the current location last March.  "Customers come in and tell me that they still have the rocking chair I sold them almost 30 years ago!" he said. "Over time, the neighborhood shifted, though. The guy who did our …

Walking around this city, it's nearly impossible not to come across someone wearing a shirt that says "Brooklyn" on it, in some way, shape, or form. They're ubiquitous, sold everywhere from sidewalk tables to high-end boutiques. But do you know where the trend started? Right here in Park Slope, at Sport Prospect, on Seventh Avenue between 10th and 11th streets.  Owner Carl Manco grew up in Park Slope, and ran the baseball and basketball programs at St. Saviour's before working for Paragon Sporting Goods on Broadway for 13 years. Then, in 1988, he had an epiphany.  "Every town has a little …

If you're looking for a great cup of coffee, there are many places in the Slope to satisfy your caffeine cravings.  But if you're also on the hunt for a European-style setting, and an owner who will greet you by name, remember your order, then proceed to brew coffee by hand for you, look no further than Cafe Martin, on Fifth Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets.  Proprietor Martin O'Connell opened the shop about a year ago, after breaking off ties from his sister Anne's Parisian-style coffee shop, Cafe Regular, located just a few blocks away. Rumor has it that he resisted modernizing the …

If you've spent any time walking around Fifth Avenue in North Slope, then the initials "R&A" probably ring a bell. The store's old-fashioned signage dominates the corner of Fifth Avenue and Park Place, with a hardware store, a bike shop, and a defunct discount store baring its name. The bike shop, which we'll talk about tody, bills itself as "The World's Largest Cycle Store." But first, a little backstory. Founder Albert Cabbad used to be what you'd call a "big shot" in the neighborhood. "He was one of the founders of what became the Fifth Avenue Committee, and he was friends with mayors and …

Jason Figel is a man of few words.  As owner of Music Matters, on Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th streets, he's witnessed the decline of physical format music and the rise of the MP3, but when pressed for his opinion on iPods and the shift away from CDs, his reply was only, "It's convenient." His motivations for opening a CD store? "It looked like the neighborhood could use a CD store," he said. And when asked about what kind of music he prefers to listen to, he replied, "Whatever's playing." But in a way Figel is the ideal CD store owner. Although he may appear indifferent, don't be …

For those looking to buy invitations for weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, or really any other occasion, Lion in the Sun is the neighborhood's go-to place. It's a family-owned operation, and has developed a reputation for personalized service, creative custom invitations and stationery, and an all-around friendliness.  The store is run by Melinda Morris and her husband David, who also live in the neighborhood. Morris' parents opened up an invitation and stationery shop in Huntington, Long Island 30 years ago, and When Morris moved to the neighborhood she realized that Park Slope could use something …

If you're looking for history in Park Slope, you oftentimes need look no further than the corner pharmacy. The Prospect Gardens Pharmacy, on Seventh Avenue and Union Street, has been a neighborhood fixture for over 60 years. It's also a reminder that friendly, personalized service will never go out of fashion.  The drug store first opened its doors in the early 1940s, as part of the once dominant (but long gone) Whelan's chain. The only remaining relic of this time is the pharmacy's hanging "DRUGS/ PRESCRIPTIONS" sign, one of the neighborhood's oldest. If you look closely, you can just barely…

After 15 years in business, today one of Park Slope’s last standing independent video stores will close its doors for good. The venerable Video Forum, on Seventh Avenue between Garfield and Carroll streets, is only the recent in a long string of recently shuttered stores on Seventh Avenue. Business had been down for months, and despite a new deal on the store’s lease, a couple weeks ago the owner’s finally decided to pull the plug.  The Video Forum first opened its doors in the halcyon days of 1996, when mega-chains like Blockbuster were booming but there was still plenty of room in the …