Fabric Stores Struggle to Stay in Business

When Irving Lederich first opened the doors to Tru-Mart Discount Fabrics in the mid 1970’s, 25th St. and Seventh Ave. was the considered southern end of New York’s vast garment district.  At that time, the heart of the garment district extended from 40th Street and Eighth Avenue and all the way to 23rd and Sixth.  Chelsea was full of cutting rooms, furriers, sewing machine shops and had a handful of other fabric stores.  Back then, even banks had names that reflected the character of the city—Irving Trust, Chemical Bank and Manufacturers Hanover.  “We were in Chelsea before it was cool,” said David, Lederich’s grandson and store manager.  Those banks have since folded into others.  Nearly all of the machine shops have closed.  Gritty workrooms in squat buildings have transformed into glossy storefronts and sleek high-rises.  But Tru-Mart remains on the corner, looking exactly as it did over thirty years ago.

New York City’s fabric stores are an endangered species.  This weekend, Regent Fabrics, the last remaining retail fabric store on the Upper East Side, closed its doors.   The upscale fabric stores of 57th Street are all gone, some forever, while others relocated to the garment district.  Those garment district stores also feel the threats of rezoning, rising rents and development.  The construction of The New York Times building alone displaced five street level retail fabric stores.

While the number of fabric stores are shrinking, the amount of customers remain steady. The city’s three major design schools, Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons and Pratt Institute, not only keep fabric stores busy but also provide a steady pipeline of future clients. Designers, decorators and dressmakers from all over the U.S., Europe and even South America come here to shop.  New York is still the top destination, especially since it is ever harder to find good fabric.  When fabric mills were plentiful in the U.S., it was easier to buy inexpensive high quality goods.  Now textiles are rarely produced in the U.S. Most mills are in Asia, and it’s difficult to get good cuttings.

Paron Fabrics is one of the few small businesses that have not only survived, but prospered.  Originally located on 57th Street, it had two floors of designer fabrics, mostly Italian wools.  Salesperson Lucy Dawid said most of their fabrics come from closeouts of designers like Armani and Missoni. Paron also started a web-based business.  Gary Babyatzky, owner of Paron and  ManhattanFabrics.com, initially thought it would be hard to sell fabric on line, but is pleased to find they have plenty of customers. At the 57th Street store, he said, “A lot of our customers were women who would just come in to touch the fabrics on their lunch hour, just to relax,” he said, smiling at the thought.  “It gets their creative juices flowing.”   He has even thought of integrating a sewing café into the 40th Street store, possibly using machines on a rental basis. “Maybe we could do something vertical,” he said, thinking he could add another floor.

Paron was the last fabric store left on the 57th Street. In 1996, their landlord refused to renew their lease.  “We were lucky to find space in the garment district,” said Babyatzky.  Their former shop was taken over by a card store.  That business lasted about a year and has remained empty since.  The storefront, located on the south side of 57th near Sixth Avenue, has graffiti and a poster warning about rats on its entrance door.

Like Paron, Regent’s landlord refused to renew their lease.  Since the owner had been ill, Babyatzky was helping Regent liquidate their stock these past few months. Regent had at least one part-time and four full-time employees, all of whom are now unemployed.  It’s a familiar story in the garment district.  Dawid said back in the 70’s she worked in another garment center store and their rent was $2,000 a month. In 1980, the landlord suddenly demanded $20,000 and they were forced to close.  “It’s a salad bar now,” she said.

Irving Lederich came to America from Poland in 1953 and settled in Borough Park, Brooklyn.  He, like countless other eastern European immigrants, got work in the garment center.  His first job in America was sewing piece goods for seventy-five cents an hour.  “It was rough,” he said.  He quickly switched to textiles and worked in the velvet business for over 20 years at Majestic Mills.  “Velvet is good,” he said.  “Prints change every year.  But velvet is stable.”

When Majestic moved to Pennsylvania in the mid 70’s, Lederich bought the building and its existing fabric store.  Since 1978, Lederich and his wife, Ana, worked in the store together until she passed away five years ago.  Lederich still travels to work each day from his home in Brooklyn but most of the day-to-day tasks belong to his grandson. FIT students make up a large part of their business, but designers, stylists and set dressers keep them busy all year round.  Their discount fabrics also bring in a lot of Mermaid Parade and Halloween customers.

Even though Paron is more upscale, their prices have remained stable over the past few years.  Expensive fabric stores like Jerry Brown and Weller are no longer in business.  Today, even wholesalers need to cater to retail traffic just to stay profitable.  At Paron, they have pared back selling notions and patterns.  “Patterns are a loss leader,” Babyatzky said, “and pattern companies are not so cooperative.  There used to be Butterick, Simplicity and Vogue.  Then Butterick bought Vogue and they got huffy.  We used to be their biggest customer in the country.  Now we don’t carry them anymore.” 

The retail fabric business is struggling, but this is just one segment of the many long-time businesses that have fallen away in the past few years. Chelsea, like the rest of the city, is undergoing a massive conversion away from family-owned businesses to chain stores and restaurants that continually open, close and reopen as something else.  New buildings are owned by real estate investment trusts instead the people who live and work in them.  David admits he is concerned about the future of the neighborhood.  Lederich has a more philosophical take.  “I know I could make more by renting this out then by selling schmatas,” he said.  “But I do it for my grandson.  He likes the business.”—Sherry Mazzocchi

Comments

[nana]

I never knew it was so old

[Grand Theft King]

Good store