December 11, 2020
Independent fine jewelry designer Page Sargisson had been eyeing a sweet little storefront at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Hoyt Street in Brooklyn earlier this year as a spot to potentially stage a pop-up shop.
This was right before the pandemic hit, when brick-and-mortar retailing in New York was humming along beautifully. But even after COVID-19 closed the city’s stores for several months, Sargisson was still interested in setting up shop in the light-filled storefront, a former Steven Alan boutique that had been sitting empty.
Eventually, she was able to negotiate a cut rate for rent (more on that in a minute), and Sargisson went from planning a pop-up shop to signing a two-year lease for the space at 347 Atlantic Avenue to opening her first-ever retail store, which bowed in late November.