[Photo by Noah Kalina]
1) Lower East Side: Noticed something afoot on your way to munching on devils-on-horseback? That's because Freemans has spawned, dudes. Say hello to Freemans Sporting Club, a barber shop/men's suit store at the entrance of Freeman Alley. So genius. An empire expands, and this time it's totally Bruni-proof. What this means for the zeitgeist, we really can't say.
2) Brooklyn Heights: A source we trust about these sorts of things writes: "Very cool new home furnishings store, Abitare, just opened up in Brooklyn Heights. Proprietor is Lizzie Hand." And before you ask, "abitare" is the verb "to live" in Italian. Duh. Here's the link. Earthy! [Storefronting inbox]
3) Chelsea: Page Six reports that club mastermind Mike Diamond (Snitch, Pangaea) is teaming up with Anthrax guitarist/VH1 talking head Scott Ian to open a rock club called Retox on Halloween. Retox. Get it? Cypress Hill will play opening night, and Scott Ian will perform with piano-rock enthusiasts Five for Fighting in November, which is one of the most intensely bizarre mental images we've had in a while. [NYPost]
4) Southampton: We can't bring ourselves to care about this in October, but frankly, we needed more material. "Realize it's off season...so The Beach is closed for the winter -- but does anyone know what's going in to the old supermarket location next to the CVS on Main Street in Southampton? Whatever it is, it looks BIG. My bet is a Citarella." [Storefronting inbox]