*Ed. note: We later received an email from DL that they are relocating.
The Denim Library – purveyor of high end denim wear – has been closed each time I’ve passed the store over the last month. On my way home from Abyssinian on Sunday I happened to notice that the store fixtures were being removed and loaded into a truck. It appears that another Harlem business has bitten the dust.
Just short of a year ago, a blogger wrote, that she thought the store would probably have seen triple the business if it were located downtown.
The Denim Library has been recognized by The New York Times, Travel & Leisure and CBS News. However, it is still below the radar of most NYC shoppers outside of Harlem. I have no doubt that if TDL were located in Soho or Midtown, it would have triple (or more) the business that it currently has. But, I’m glad that it has remained in Harlem, so residents there can enjoy an upscale but comfortable shopping experience in their neighborhood without going to a large chain retailer.
The DL unfortunately seemed to suffer the same affliction as many small businesses in Harlem — poor customer service.
I raved about it to one of my co-workers who went and said she experienced less than excellent customer service when purchasing her jeans. That’s not cool. But fortunately, I don’t think it’s the norm. (She loves her jeans, by the way).
The blogger went on to predict that similar businesses will be popping up in Harlem over the next few years and hoped that The DL would be here to stay. With the economy in the state that it is currently in, we are probably more likely to see other businesses like DL quietly slipping off of the scene without so much as a thank you note left in the window for their regular customers or the benefit of a close out sale. C’est la vie.
Posted on October 29, 2008 by D. Bell