Sabah House New York Opens on Bleecker Street
A modern day caravanserai
While other brands promise an experience, Sabah actually delivers. Founded by bon vivant, Mickey Ashmore, and inspired by traditional Turkish slippers, Sabah is dedicated to providing customers with an old-world level of service in Instagram-worthy spaces. And that’s no exception with their latest store opening in New York City this month.
Sabah House New York, in its newest iteration at 56 Bleecker Street, is a culmination of everything the brand has built since its inception in 2013. Providing community integration, colorful displays, and a tiled bar that serves as the centerpiece to the 1,600 square-foot retail space, it’s easy to forget you’re there to buy shoes – and that’s because the retail side of the business never feels forced. Instead, by cultivating a space for its customers, it’s a natural progression to purchase a pair of their exquisite loafers between rounds of backgammon and sips of Bellocq tea.
Every detail of the space is considered. From the cobalt blue tiled bar to the soft pink stools that circumvent it, one sees a cohesive vision first sparked by the imagination of Ashmore years ago. Even the shoes themselves, soft leather slippers that come in a rainbow of tans, yellows, reds, and more, become part of the decoration. It’s a hearth, a place to warm up and relax. A place to smile with friends you just met. And, really, after years on Zoom, isn’t there something to be said about the perfect timing of this new space?
Simply put, it’s retail done right: the philosophy of inclusion where everyone – even for a few minutes – can step into a world unlike anything a department store or larger brand could recreate. Imbued with a sense of wonder, one feels as though they are stepping into a cabinet of curiosities in the sun-drenched living room of someone who has lived a good life. It’s intimate without being suffocating, refined without being sterile. It’s the natural progression of a brand who very much defines the IYKYK philosophy of Instagram insiders and the gentleman flâneur alike.
So, if you’re in the city, stop by for a quick game of backgammon and buy yourself a pair while you’re there. And while you’re pondering your next move, maybe you can answer the open-ended question emblazoned on the tilework of the bar: “Where to next?”
While we can’t answer that for Sabah, we can confidently say, wherever they go, we’re tagging along.
