WEST VILLAGE — The 28-year-old Bleecker Street shop Rebel Rebel Records will close its doors soon due to rising rents.
Owner David Shebiro said the rent had risen too quickly, Jeremiah's Vanishing New York reported. High-end clothing stores St. James and Scotch & Soda are on either side of his business. Scotch & Soda will expand into the Rebel Rebel space, Shebiro told Vanishing New York.
Scotch and Soda, a retailer that sells $115 blouses, took over the storefront where Cafe Angelique stood for more than 10 years after the landlord raised the rent from $16,000 a month to $42,000.
Rebel Rebel, at 319 Bleecker St., is the latest in a long line of records stores, book stores and restaurants to close and give way to the ever-encroaching high-end stores in the Village. Just last month, beloved shop East Village's Other Music announced it would be closing.
Two other Village record shops, Bleecker Bob's and Bleecker Street Records, also closed a few years ago after landlords significantly increased rents.
Shebiro and Scotch & Soda did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DNAinfo.
