Casa Magazines
{{Short description|Newsstand in New York City}}
{{Orphan|date=January 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Casa Magazines
| logo =
| logo_size =
| logo_caption =
| image = File:Casa Magazines. New York, NY.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| image_caption = Casa Magazines, New York (August 2016)
| industry = Newsstand
| fate =
| founded = 1970s
| founder =
| defunct =
| hq_location = 22 8th Avenue
| hq_location_city = New York City
| hq_location_country = United States
| num_locations = 1
| num_locations_year =
| area_served = New York City
| owner = Hemal Sheth
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Casa Magazines is a corner shop, located at 8th Avenue and 12th Street in the West Village, Manhattan.{{Cite news |last=Farago |first=Jason |date=2021-04-29 |title=The Vanished Glamour of Midcentury Print Media |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/arts/design/photography-midcentury-vogue-bazaar-jewish-museum.html |access-date=2021-12-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} It is known for selling international fashion and design publications in print format among the more than 2,000 titles it carries.{{Cite news |last=Dwyer |first=Kate |date=2021-11-10 |title=Casa Magazines Has Seen It All |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/10/style/casa-magazines-west-village.html |access-date=2021-12-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
The newsstand has been dubbed New York City's “magazine Mecca”{{Cite web |last=Moinzadeh |first=Atoosa |date=2020-06-17 |title=Long Live Casa Magazines |url=https://officemagazine.net/long-live-casa-magazines |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Office Magazine |language=en}} and has been profiled in major media outlets due to its continued operation in spite of the decline of newspapers and other print media along with the store's survival during the COVID-19 recession in the United States.
History
In 1994, Casa Magazines was purchased by Mohammed Ahmed, who has been dubbed as "the last king of print" by The New York Times.{{Cite news|last=Lau|first=Maya|date=26 October 2012|title=The Last King of Print - The New York Times|work=The 6th Floor, The New York Times|url=https://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/the-last-king-of-print/|access-date=31 December 2021}}{{Cite web|last=Ruffner|first=Zoe|date=2020-05-06|title=How Two West Village Institutions Are Banding Together to Save a Beloved New York Block|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/west-village-casa-magazines-la-bonbonniere-coronavirus|access-date=2021-12-31|website=Vogue|language=en-US}} He is assisted by Ali Wasim, who has been working with Casa since 1995.{{Cite magazine|last=Pemberton|first=Nathan Taylor|date=2020-07-09|title=A Lighthouse for Magazines|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-lighthouse-for-magazines|access-date=2021-12-31|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}} A customer has described the shop to the New York Times as "It feels like a grown-up Sesame Street."
The shop had been open daily for 26 years until the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when it had to close temporarily. The neighborhood set up a GoFundMe to support the owner and staff.
In 2021, Casa Magazines collaborated with shoemaker Vans on a special pair of sneakers. The shoes featured a white background with the names of products sold by the store, along with other details. This project came about after the newsstand was nominated by Nicolas Heller to be part of the company's "Foot The Bill" initiative.{{Cite web |last=Saltonstall |first=Gus |date=2021-03-29 |title=Vans Shoes Partners With Iconic West Village Magazine Stand |url=https://patch.com/new-york/west-village/vans-shoes-partners-iconic-west-village-magazine-stand |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Patch |language=en}}
In June 2022, Ahmed and Wasim were in a video that was part of a MoMA research salon called "The Store and the Street" about how shops interact with people on the street.{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Sana |date=2022-10-05 |title=Mohammed and Ali's Magazine Mecca |url=https://aaww.org/the-magazine-mecca-of-mohammed-and-ali/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Asian American Writers' Workshop |language=en-US}}
In February 2024, Casa Magazines collaborated with Madewell for New York Fashion Week. The shop offered denim jackets embroidered with its logo and filled its windows with a special Madewell denim zine.{{Cite web |last=Schlott |first=Rikki |date=2024-02-19 |title=Humble NYC newsstand has become a fashion world darling |url=https://nypost.com/2024/02/19/lifestyle/humble-nyc-newsstand-has-become-a-fashion-world-darling/ |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=New York Post |language=en-US}}
Later in 2024, Ahmed sold Casa Magazines to Hemal Sheth, who owns a small chain of magazine shops in Lower Manhattan called Iconic Magazines. At 73, Ahmed plans to retire but Wasim will continue to run the shop day to day.{{Cite web |last=Chang |first=Clio |date=2024-03-20 |title=Casa Magazines Has Been Sold |url=https://www.curbed.com/article/casa-magazines-mohammed-ahmed-sold.html |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=Curbed |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Conklin |first=Emily |date=2024-03-20 |title=Casa Magazines is bought by Iconic Magazine |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2024/03/iconic-new-york-print-shop-casa-magazines-is-bought-by-iconic-magazines/ |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=The Architect’s Newspaper |language=en-US}}
In media
- The New Yorker — "A Light House for Magazines".
- Office Magazine — "Long Live Casa Magazines".
- The New York Times' insider report — "Casa Magazines Is New York City's Best Kept Secret. The Secret Is Out".{{Cite news|last=Dwyer|first=Kate|date=2021-11-14|title=Casa Magazines Is New York City's Best Kept Secret. The Secret Is Out.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/insider/casa-magazines-community.html|access-date=2021-12-31|issn=0362-4331}}
- BBC News's special coverage — "Surviving Covid: How this New York newsstand kept going".{{Cite news |date=December 22, 2021 |title=Surviving Covid: How this New York newsstand kept going 🗞️ |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-59707140 |access-date=2021-12-31 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
- New York Post — "This humble West Village newsstand has become a fashion world darling".
Gallery
Magazines_on_Shelf_at_CASA_Magazines.jpg|Print magazines on the shelf at Casa Magazines (June 2019)
Magazines_on_Shelf_at_CASA_Magazines_2.jpg|Print magazines on the shelf at Casa Magazines (June 2019)
CASA_Magazines_NYC.jpg|Print magazines on the shelf at Casa Magazines (June 2019)
CASA_Magazines_2.jpg|Print magazines on the shelf at Casa Magazines (June 2019)
CASA_Magazines_3.jpg|Copies of Côté Paris and ELLE Decor in mid-shelf and Playboy on the bottom shelf (June 2019)
References
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External links
- [https://www.instagram.com/casamagazinesnyc/ Casa Magazines on Instagram]