BOERUM HILL — Nearly a decade after setting up shop on Smith Street near Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn Tattoo is moving to a new, more central location in the neighborhood.
The tattoo parlor is heading from 99 Smith St. to a space at 279 Smith St. between Degraw and Sackett streets that co-owner Adam Suerte says is much "more mature" with exposed brick, hardwood paneling and stone flooring.
The new location — resulting from the end of the shop's lease — is closer to the heart of Boerum Hill and Carroll Gardens, which Suerte hopes would encourage patrons to explore the neighborhoods.
At the old Brooklyn Tattoo shop near Atlantic Avenue, people from outside the area would "come in, they'll get tattooed and they'll split," he said.
"We feel like our clientele that comes from outside the neighborhood is going to impact the Smith Street commerce."
Smith Street "has been criticized in the last few years as being on a decline due to new landlords, exorbitant rents and declining foot traffic," the shop said in an announcement about the move.
More than a dozen businesses have closed on the stretch in the past several months and a recent real estate report found that Smith Street's retail rents have significantly increased since last summer.
"When people say Smith Street's dead, it demeans a lot of the businesses here ... that are thriving," Suerte said.
Brooklyn Tattoo will celebrate the opening of its new location Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. Its first official day of business in the new location will be Tuesday, Oct. 4.
