And That’s (Mostly) a Wrap on Our First Round of RE:Store!
September 24, 2026
After an exciting summer of shopping, crafting, cooking, candle-making and more, the inaugural round of our RE:Store program has come to an end. It’s not all over, with three of our seven pop-up businesses sticking around for a bit: Plus BKLYN (2 Broadway) and Element Brooklyn (192 Front St.) are extending their stays through the end of the year, and Brooklyn Craft Company (225 Broadway) will be in the neighborhood through October. You can find new operating hours for these spots on our website. Still, this month, we said goodbye to Kitchen Arts & Letters (111 Broadway), the Numero Group (186 Front St.) and Dimorae Home and Francis’ World (190 Front St.), whose numerous events, workshops and wares drew crowds all summer long.
Based on feedback from the business owners, property managers and locals, our first RE:Store round — which offered seven businesses free space to run pop-ups from Memorial Day to Labor Day — was a huge success. Not only did our businesses offer new shopping opportunities for downtowners, but they brought creative programming to their storefronts throughout the summer, helping engage the community and activate the spaces beyond peak business hours.
Participants hosted a range of events, including candle-making workshops at Element Brooklyn, concerts at the Numero Group, embroidery and printmaking workshops at Dimore Home and Francis’ World, “shop and sip” experiences at Plus BKLYN, crafting classes at Brooklyn Craft Company and book events and conversations with leading voices in New York City’s food scene at Kitchen Arts & Letters.
See below for testimonials from business owners and property managers, and stay tuned for more RE:Store news to come.
Quotes from Property Management:
We were proud to be part of the RE:Store pilot, hosting three businesses in the Seaport this summer. Vacant storefronts are a missed opportunity, both for the businesses that could use the space and for the neighborhood around them, and this program gave us a practical way to close that gap. Each retailer brought something different to the mix, and together they added real energy and foot traffic to the area — exactly the kind of activation we’d like to see more of as the neighborhood continues to grow. Ellie Chamberland, senior vice president, marketing, Seaport Entertainment Group
Participating in the Downtown Alliance’s pop-up program was a tremendous opportunity to activate our vacant storefront and introduce new visitors to 111 Broadway. The pop-up generated positive energy, increased foot traffic and demonstrated how creative partnerships can bring renewed attention to available spaces while contributing to the vibrancy of downtown Manhattan. David Despres, property manager, Trinity Center
I’ve been in Lower Manhattan for more than 30 years, and it’s been great to see so many young families move into the neighborhood. I was really happy to have Brooklyn Craft Company at 225 Broadway as a part of the RE:Store program because it was the kind of family-oriented business that could serve and become part of this growing community. Mendy Braun, vice president, Braun Management
Quotes from Business Owners:
RE:Store let us test a retail concept without betting the company on a five-year lease, and what we’ve learned has reshaped how we think about our business. Because the space was bigger than anything we’d have taken on our own, and in the dynamic and bustling Seaport neighborhood, we were inspired to do something more ambitious than a regular retail store. Andrew Nicol, Element Brooklyn
The RE:Store program helped us see how fast we can actually replicate what we do at Plus BKLYN in a new location: testing a new market, adapting to a different physical space, and understanding how customer needs shift in a new neighborhood, even hours of operation. That’s knowledge we couldn’t have gotten any other way. Alexis Krase, Plus BKLYN
We turned a former discount ticketing outlet into a record store and asked neighbors, New Yorkers and tourists alike to ponder an alternate history of popular music — they did much more than that. A branding opportunity like no other. Ken Shipley, The Numero Group
The RE:Store program has been an amazing opportunity for Brooklyn Craft Company to test new services and expand our customer base. It is clear that Lower Manhattan residents and workers want to support small, community-oriented businesses, and folks from all over the city have appreciated how easily accessible the location is via public transit. Carolyn Heitmann, Brooklyn Craft Company
Being part of the RE:Store program has been an incredibly rewarding experience and a meaningful opportunity to grow both as a business and personally. Preparing for and running a brick-and-mortar space, activating it through exhibitions and workshops, and learning firsthand about the dynamics of retail have been challenging, but have also opened my eyes to the incredible possibilities New York has to offer. Francesca Furian, Francis’ World
As a small business that had never had its own storefront, this was an incredible opportunity to test myself, meet customers in person, and see firsthand how people responded to my tableware collection. Giulia Dal Cerro, Dimorae Home
The highlight of our RE:Store experience was being able to host a series of nine talks about New York’s food culture. We were thrilled to feature panelists like Ruth Reichl, Gail Simmons, Julia Moskin, and Eric Kim and to draw attendees who lived a block or two away or who traveled from all the other boroughs. Matt Sartwell, Kitchen Arts & Letters
