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As if the hipsters of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood weren’t already pissed enough about the forthcoming Urban Outfitters store, the company had to go and add fuel to the fire by applying for a liquor license.
Of course in most situations we’re all for boozing and shopping (because let’s be honest, those are two of the most fun things ever) but to put it in the words of New York City Councilman Stephen Levin: “Do we really want people drunk when they are buying their skinny jeans and ironic t-shirts?'”
No, no we don’t think we do.
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The company hasn’t said what they have planned if they succeed in getting licensed, but boozing and shopping isn’t a new idea. In 2009 for example, the Washington Post wrote about one boutique’s strategy to sell more clothes by offering cold brews and a giant flat-screen t.v. However if this is part of a larger strategy to incorporate alcohol into the UO in-store experience, this would be the first time a major retailer has attempted to do so.
Residents of the up-and-coming Williamsburg ‘hood are most mad because they say UO getting a liquor license would take away the opportunity from a locally owned bar or restaurant.
“The whole point of bars in this neighborhood is that they are owned by people who live here, they are small local businesses,” Alicia Cantor-Palm told New York Daily News. “It doesn’t make sense for (Urban Outfitters) to be here anyway.”
The new store is one of 37 applications for a liquor license in the area, which has seen an increasing number of applications recently.
Considering that the presumably sober shoppers of Urban Outfitters stores are already making questionable decisions like buying prescription shot glasses and syringe shooters, maybe the in-store alcohol isn’t such a great idea. What do you think?
