Frances Thomas

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | After a year without in-person shows, Barbès returns to what it does best: bringing people together around live music.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | After pausing IRL events for the foreseeable future, a NYC-based crafting community found a new sense of purpose online.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In the LES, a Roman-inspired restaurant rejects the industry’s “bluntly toxic” working conditions.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In the Lower East Side, a decades-old candy store survives, thanks to loyalists around the country.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | The owners of Uncle Funkys Boards fight to protect their business — and their community.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | You probably won’t recognize most of the labels at this new retail concept — and that’s the whole point.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A downtown staple since 1994, Thompson Alchemists survived the pandemic by providing personal service in a big-box world.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight |  In Brooklyn, a small batch Italian spirits brand pops off.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In Soho, a fashion industry vet turned esthetician is putting artists first.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In Crown Heights, these Partners Coffee alums are building a business where community always comes first.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In the West Village, a buzzy English restaurant brings the community together with the “perfect food” — and plenty of purpose.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A Gowanus gift shop reopens on its own terms.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | After halting business at the beginning of the pandemic, Karla Smith-Brown reimagined her Brooklyn floral studio for perennial growth.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In Rockaway Beach, Monice Small is building a dedicated fitness community — one personal training session at a time.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Thanks to a new federal grant, Rosalu Diner lives to see another day as a neighborhood mainstay.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | After 14 months of darkness, The Slipper Room in the LES turns the lights back on.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In her Clinton Hill apartment, Carla Finley hits her sourdough stride.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In Prospect Heights, a ceramics studio taps into the wellness benefits of clay.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In Greenpoint, a Lebanese-American chef takes over a beloved deli from his neighbor.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | After being closed for months, a sustainable womenswear shop in Fort Greene finds a new level of connection with customers.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Checking in with the wine bar that helped launch this column.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A small natural wine shop in Clinton Hill goes beyond no-intervention bottles.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A Brooklyn creative studio is connecting restaurants, diners, and wine shops over the classic comfort food.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | While on furlough, a Brooklyn-based textile designer used her free time to launch a jewelry line.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | If not for the pandemic, Joy Cho wouldn’t have launched a business this early in her career.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | From her Brooklyn apartment, Katherine Hernandez delivers indoor greenery to homebound New Yorkers.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In Carroll Gardens, a sibling-owned sundae spot gears up for a post-COVID world.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | With no city guidance on when or how to reopen, Cobble Hill Cinemas eats through its savings to hang on.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In the East Village, a pair of natural wine-focused restaurants shapeshift through the pandemic.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | This sister-run bakery is committed to serving affordable treats in hard times.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Opened in the height of COVID-19, this eco- and socially conscious gift shop is moving forward one day at a time.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A bookstore dedicated to Winston Churchill takes his immortal words to heart.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | This new Crown Heights eatery embraces COVID-era constraints.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A multi-hyphenate record shop in Carroll Gardens digs deep to survive.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | With virtually no foot traffic, Manhattan’s Riverdel Cheese pivots to delivery.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A Brooklyn-based entrepreneur makes tough calls to stay afloat.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Brooklyn’s Greene Moments Studio is breaking down yoga barriers with free online classes.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | The pandemic has pushed House of Yes to become “more than a nightclub.”

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How a shuffleboard club in Brooklyn and Chicago is staying in motion.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | After halting production in March, Alexandra Winbush got new life — and hit new roadblocks.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How a contemporary gallery in Bed-Stuy is leveling the playing field.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A Lower East Side cultural icon reimagines live performance while fighting to survive.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A theater in Williamsburg moves entirely online.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A pair of nightlife venues in Gowanus struggles to survive.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How The Slipper Room is trying to make it to the other side.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How a beloved Greenwich Village cafe is staying in play.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | After over two decades of cheap drinks and peanuts, Botanica is seriously upping its fare game.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How a Williamsburg concept store is forging ahead, one pop-up at a time.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How a community dance org in Brooklyn is keeping class in session.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | The owner of Buy Better Foods, a new organic market in Bed-Stuy, on tackling this daunting challenge.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Diana Ho is keeping her indie shop afloat with some sweet subscriptions.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | The Brooklyn Arts Exchange is making the digital shift.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How Natty Garden pivoted in the wake of COVID-19.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Baba Cool is taking over two parking spaces to serve dine-in (er, dine-“out”) customers.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | In the midst of a pandemic, BK Yoga Club is doubling down on its mission.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | For Mekelburg’s, the pandemic necessitated a whole new business model.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Sex toy sales are booming — here’s why, according to Lisa Finn of Babeland in NYC.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | The owner of Whisk in downtown Brooklyn is taking on the big banks, the tech titans, and COVID-19 repercussions.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | A feminist boutique in Brooklyn fights to survive.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | To save their business, the owners of Uncle Funkys Boards are making tough calls.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | Kalima DeSuze of Cafe con Libros is doing her best to stay in business, but it’s not easy.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How ABC Beer Co. is diversifying to survive.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | How a Clinton Hill wine shop is keeping customers safe and sated.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | With her vintage boutique closed for the foreseeable future, Su Beyazit is hopeful for a better tomorrow.

COVID-19 #SmallBizSpotlight | This Fort Greene wine bar is leading a community revolution.

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The Dutch sex toy brand’s founder believes ‘women deserve beautiful sex toys.'

The Japanese knife brand designs from a global mindset.

A festival veteran recommends nine essentials and a few fun extras.

Impulse purchases from a writer, two designers, an Instagram personality, and an art studio director.

An easy tutorial for planting your first succulent.

Summer Rayne Oakes, an environmental scientist and author, shares house plant shopping tips at Sprout Home in Williamsburg.

Dylan Lipari of Superare recommends gloves for every type of boxer.

Why Whisk, a beloved kitchenware boutique founded in Brooklyn, closed two storefronts in two months.

Get the premium yoga studio experience—minus the hefty membership fee.

Babeland, a sex toy brand with shops in NYC and Seattle, offers something for everyone—whether you’re on your first or fiftieth visit.

Village Grannies in downtown Manhattan looks and feels unlike any other smoke shop you’ve been inside.

At Sprout Home, an indie garden center with locations in Williamsburg and Chicago, a green thumb is welcome—but not required.

Tara Heibel, founder of Sprout Home, recommends the perfect starter plants for a variety of indoor environments.

You don’t need it, but you want it. #NoRegrets.

The Brooklyn-based media publisher and self-described ‘curious consumer’ thinks socks make an outfit.

Lisa Finn, a sex educator and the brand manager of Babeland, recommends the right sex toy for 13 different needs.

Buying a boxed mattress is easy—returning one, not so much.

It’s easy to set up a recording studio in your living room.

The Orange County company is making health nut-approved vaporizers.

The mission-driven vaporizer brand that isn’t afraid to align with cannabis culture.

In an alternate life, the Portland-based editor would design floral arrangements for rich private clients.

The Japanese adult toy brand creates products that aren’t embarrassing to buy.

The fashion and lifestyle blogger could also take an aperol spritz.

This family-owned textile brand from Peru is making it in America—all by word of mouth.

The company has nothing to hide.

The 25-year-old sex toy brand puts education first.

Software Developer Mike Rispoli’s buyer’s remorse.

The same-day grocery delivery platform works with local shoppers to deliver to your door.

These essentials will help you survive your next dreaded 6 train commute.