When Tayler and Rett Carraway learned that the building in downtown Manhattan that they were renting for their business was for sale, they were determined to find a way to stay.
A married couple, the Carraways had founded Happy Medium, an arts club for casual artists, in their living room in 2019, and after opening their first location on Market Street, they felt eager to grow. Over two years, they had transformed the space — which had previous lives as a stable, an Italian bakery, a print shop and more — into a thriving creative workshop.
So in October 2022, they posted an Instagram story in hopes of finding a buyer, and Kevin Song, founder and chief executive of Withco, a platform focused on helping small businesses purchase their commercial real estate, saw their plea. After meeting in person and crunching numbers on the back of a napkin, his team bought the building in 45 days — a company record.
“They were growing like hot cakes,” Mr. Song said. “People wanted what they were selling, and at that point, they were only occupying half their space.”
“I knew that once they doubled their capacity, it would be smooth sailing financially,” he added.
Experiential art spaces have been a win for their business owners, landlords looking to fill spaces without a high overhead cost and New Yorkers looking for something fun and different to do, and the momentum has caught the attention of major retailers.
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The post Paint, Pottery and Profitable Leases: Experiential Retail That Works appeared first on New York Times.
