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On May 9, The Brass Owl is officially closing its doors after more than 11 years of being a beacon of community in Astoria.
The shop has provided more than unique gifts and accessories, from springtime dresses to jewelry that sparkles in the sunlight, but a space to connect for locals, up-and-coming entrepreneurs, fellow small businesses, and long time residents who have made a ritual of perusing the shop for special finds and to chat with owner Nicole Panettieri and their long time staff who have seen customers turn into regulars, and in some instances, friends that are like family over their long tenure on Ditmars Blvd.
The store, located at 36-19 Ditmars Blvd., announced its decision to close last Monday via Instagram after putting up a valiant fight against factors such as economic changes and neighborhood shifts, including big-box stores moving into the area and slower business due to lingering inflation and high costs. In September, the store launched a GoFundMe campaign to try to save the store from shuttering that raised $11,000, a little more than half of its $20,000 goal, which helped the store to survive well into the spring. Even so, with a steady 15% decline in sales and continuing economic pressures, Panettieri recognized it was time to make a hard decision to permanently close the doors on the shop that she opened as a first-time business owner with a small loan and a dream.
“Twelve years ago, I started writing my business plan, and I can’t believe that I made it this far,” said Panettieri. “I wanted people to feel like [The Brass Owl] was warm and welcoming, and that’s what I set out to do. It turned into something even bigger than I had ever hoped; it became a community space for customers having a bad day, for artists who had their first wholesale or first pop-up, to raising money for charities. I met two of my best friends because of the store and my staff, who are so important to me. I look back at the last 11 and a half years, and I’m so glad.”
Panettieri first opened The Brass Owl in 2014, when there were only a handful of retail shops in the neighborhood. Her love for fashion and her dream to have her own shop led her to open the store, while maintaining a mindset instilled from her family owning a small business when she was growing up, to give back to the community the shop is a part of, and to find opportunities to connect with and support others, from entrepreneurs beginning their journey to customers who look to the shop as a third space and a place of connection.
Owner Nicole Panettieri in front of The Brass Owl when it first opened 11 years ago. Photo credit: The Brass Owl
Over the years, she became the co-director of the Ditmars Merchant Association, the organizer of the Shop Small Astoria crawl, the leader of the Ditmars Halloween Parade, and a small business professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, as well as an advocate with the National Retail Federation. In continuing to build community, she founded the Ladies First Astoria group, which offers opportunities for women to connect through movie nights, book clubs, paint-and-sip events, and more. The effort and care certainly haven’t been taken for granted, as messages have poured in since the announcement on how sorely the neighborhood gem will be missed, including Pancake Records owner, AJ Pacheco, who owns the vinyl shop in Astoria with his partner, Tanya Gorbunova. The couple looked to Panettieri as an early mentor and were fully supported by her the entire way as small business owners.
“Nicole was one of the first people who lit the fire under us to open our own shop,” said Pacheco. “She always made herself available for bouncing off ideas and providing resources and advice on how to make this storefront a reality. We were always included in the Shop Small Astoria crawl and Ditmars Merchants Association groups. Nicole and the entire Brass Owl team have been the glue keeping our community’s efforts working efficiently toward a common goal in making Astoria brighter. There will be a deep void left where their warm embrace once was.”
Since the announcement, their Instagram post has received nearly 1,000 comments, along with hundreds of text messages and emails, as customers, artists, and fellow small business owners have reached out with kind words and support.
“It’s been so beautifully heartbreaking-I’ve gotten texts, calls, DMs, and it’s such an outpouring of thank yous for creating a safe space and a community, which is what I wanted to do,” said Panettieri. “Someone sent me an email of her life through The Brass Owl, from the boots she wore when she was pregnant, her picnic blanket that she first had picnics with her boyfriend, and now it’s her and her family having a picnic in the park, and it was a really beautiful way of saying, “through my life, you’ve been there, and it’s really nice.”
For Kayleigh Rozwat, the store’s e-commerce and marketing manager, who will make 7 years with The Brass Owl in May, the space quickly became a second home, where she grew alongside locals, other businesses, the neighborhood itself, and met some of her closest friends through working at the store, even being in two weddings from friendships that stemmed there.
“The Brass Owl is woven into who I am today,” said Rozwat. “Coming to work feels like coming home, my coworkers genuinely feel like family, and I cherish my time spent here. Nicole believed in me from the start and became a mentor, role model, and genuine friend. It is so special and unique to find a corner of New York that is so community-driven. When I moved here, I never anticipated feeling so close and connected to my neighborhood-I feel endlessly grateful to have been a part of The Brass Owl’s story.”
Panettieri, center with Vozzo and Rozwat. Photo credit: The Brass Owl
Briana Vozzo, who has been the manager at The Brass Owl for eight years, echoed the sentiment and explained how working at the store helped shape her into the person she is today, from Panettieri’s mentorship that allowed Vozzo to flourish, to the trust she placed in her to execute her vision while giving her creative freedom to grow.
“It was truly a joy to come to work every day,” said Vozzo. “As an Astoria native, I know how much value small businesses like The Brass Owl bring to the community. I watched regular customers celebrate milestones, build families, and watched their kids grow up. I do not take lightly how incredibly lucky I am to have worked, learned, and grown at such an amazing place.”
Their GoFundMe campaign was meant to serve as a band-aid to help cover rent and utilities, support payroll, pay local artists and makers whose products are sold there, and invest in community events and outreach. Panettieri said that if it wasn’t for the outpouring of support that they received, they wouldn’t have even made it to the end of that month.
“We reached half our goal, and I wouldn’t have made it past the holidays without it; we would have closed immediately,” said Panettieri. “The goal was a Band-Aid, but getting that really helped us to get through the holiday season.”
Although the clock is winding down until the Brass Owl’s final day, Panettieri will very much continue to be a force in the community, fighting for small businesses however she can, even taking a role as a buyer for a small-owned, e-commerce business that works with small-owned makers, that share a similar vision to boost locally owned businesses.
“My fight is not over; I’m going to stay on the Merchants Association even though I’m closing my business,” said Panettieri. “It means that much to me to support small businesses and support this neighborhood.”
In the time from now to their last day, The Brass Owl will still be having multiple events to connect with the community and boost small businesses, including a spring maker’s market on March 28 and the Shop Small Crawl. Until then customers are more than welcome to come by the store, buy merchandise for the last time and chat with Nicole and the Brass Owl staff.
“There’s been an incredible outpouring of support and I don’t know if we’re going to have an event [on May 9], but the whole team will be there-it’s for hugs and tears and champagne to toast,” said Panettieri. ‘It’s been an amazing run and I’m really proud of what we accomplished.”