Comic fans and lovers of small quirky businesses alike recently feared that a massive rent increase could spell the end for Williamsburg’s Desert Island Comics.
Owner Gabe Fowler announced that the store would be forced to close by the year’s end, but fans rushed to offer support, convincing Fowler to launch a GoFundMe campaign. In less than 48 hours, the campaign hit its fundraising goals, which meant that the store could shore up the remaining cost of the rent. However, considering the precarity of the situation, Fowler recently announced even better news—he found a new space, only 500 feet away. Desert Island Comics will remain at 540 Metropolitan Avenue until Christmas and plans to re-open at 490 Metropolitan by next March. And we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief—it’s a ten-year lease!
“Thanks to Alexis from @plusbklyn who helped us get into her space as she moves on to her larger and wildly successful store in Greenpoint 💕” Fowler wrote on Instagram. “Shout out to new landlord Sal, capo of the Giglio feast, for letting us lease the store built by his grandfather, an Italian immigrant from Naples who ran a fruit store here. 🙏”
Grateful to see that there’s a good landlord out there, somewhere. Old Williamsburg and new(er) Williamsburg coexisting—that’s what it’s all about.