The vintage storefront look is ubiquitous downtown and in Brooklyn but has not really arrived in Harlem until the past couple of years. A good example of this can be found at the corner of 126th Street which was previously a much ignored perfume store but now is the home of the popular Corner Social. We actually like the product at the previous shop but the clinical looking exterior looked more appropriate for a strip mall and not on a historic block in New York City. After the space shuttered, the Corner Social moved in soon after and replaced the basic looking windows with paneled woodwork along with old fashion painted on signage.
This aesthetic is naturally compatible with the century old buildings of the neighborhood and thus makes sense to businesses that want to look authentic but are quite new. As Harlem moves forward and catches up with the rest of the city, folks should expect more establishments to follow in the footsteps of the new, successful businesses such as Lenox Coffee, Barawine, Harlem Public, Mason Harlem, Vinateria and The Grange.
An earlier incarnation of this corner was a seafood restaurant called Porgy and Bass, loved that name.
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