By Holly Secon
In the Rye of the early 2000s, going “into town” meant grabbing a CD from Sam Goody, paying cash for candy at the Smoke Shop, and watching another bank move into an empty storefront.
Sam Goody is long gone. The Smoke Shop closed up shop years ago. And shopping itself has changed. When was the last time you used cash, bought a CD, or didn’t check online first?
Nationally, retailers closed more than 7,300 stores in 2024, 57 percent more than the year before, according to Coresight Research, amid fears of a “retailpocalypse.”
But downtown Rye doesn’t have that problem.
It’s busier than ever.
Head to Purchase Street, and you will barely be able to find parking. You’ll see shoppers wandering leisurely, wearing white linens and pastel polos, carrying crochet bags and walking dogs, and stopping to chat. You might even catch a film crew shooting an Ann Taylor catalog, as was the case in July.
Gone are many of the banks. In their place are a wave of new boutiques, with a new sensibility and, in many cases, a new price point.
The shopkeepers have run stores on Shelter Island and Martha’s Vineyard, and do pop-ups in Nantucket and Cape Cod. They’re bringing resort-town instincts to a year-round Main Street, paired with something closer to a SoHo showroom vibe. It’s about the in-person experience – admiring fabric up close, chatting with the owner, booking a private appointment upstairs.
Tim Baxter opened Baxter in Rye four months ago with that in mind.
“[It has become] very difficult for people to shop and buy clothes,” he said. “So the idea is we make it very simple for people to pop in and become a part of their routine.”
His store stocks designer womenswear and menswear, carrying both cashmere shirts and formal gowns. He has everything from $498 Brochu Walker cream knit polo sweaters to $350 Vince suede slingback heels, to the viral $218 Rag & Bone sweatpant jeans, of which Baxter said he has sold “literally hundreds.”
“The Rye shopper is very savvy, stylish, and sophisticated,” he added. “We have some very expensive things, but it’s great quality for the price, and the Rye customer appreciates this.”
Betsie Carroll, who owns The Stand, a women’s boutique down the street, agreed.
Since opening 18 months ago, she has found customers “are looking for something unique that they can’t find anywhere else,” she said. “You can find stuff everyone has anywhere. You can just go online.”
So Carroll doesn’t sell online. No website, and no plans for one.
“I’m trying the old-fashioned way,” she said – trunk shows, pop-ups, walk-ins, and a bit of Instagram.
Around the corner is Carrie Heffernan’s Sartina. She opened in November 2024, after three years running Misfit Bazaar in the space now occupied by The Stand. She said she “curates a brand mix” of “new designers, up-and-coming designers, new brands,” including a $570 Alemais mini dress, $550 Proenza Schouler pants, and jewelry of varying prices.
“Of all the stores in town, I have the most elevated price point,” she said, but added, “I never want anyone to feel like they’re walking into my store and can’t buy something or feel intimidated by the price tag.”
A buying manager in New York gave her the advice: introduce the pricier labels slowly.
“You kind of have to train your customer a little bit,” she said.
All say their customers are after the same thing: quality and uniqueness, but also the local feel. Down the street at Village Mercantile, Camryn Sullivan works with her mother, who opened the shop a year ago.
She calls Rye a “destination town,” “a beach town,” and the store leans in with bright, coastal, high-quality merchandise – $35 pouches that say BOAT LIFE, $65 handwoven crochet bags, $40 summer candles, and shell-themed tablewear. But “we don’t want our items to be, you know, on Amazon,” she added.
But many shoppers are local, browsing in Sartina between dropping off kids and picking them up from activities, Heffernan said. Baxter ballparked that the majority of shoppers are Rye residents, but about 30 to 40 percent come from neighboring Westchester towns and Fairfield County. Carroll added that shoppers come from other towns because they like “making a day of it,” walking down the strip, and eating and drinking.
“We have a lot of people from Harrison, Scarsdale, Greenwich,” she said.
At Palmer & Purchase, manager Megan Graham has watched Purchase Street change over her eight years in business.
“Today, there’s a little more brand awareness,” thanks to social media, she said. “They’re coming in looking for certain brands, so designers like Doen, Chan Luu, Donni, and Lizzy Fortunato do well.”
She also has a Westhampton store, and she notices the difference.
“The Rye shopper is more consistent,” she said. “They’re community members. Westhampton shoppers are a bit more impulsive because they’re on vacation, having fun.”
While these shops cater to high-end shoppers, those with a lower price point in mind can still find their sweet spot in shops like Havana Jeans (opened in the mid-2000s) and Love Bella (since the 2010s), which carry clothing priced in the double digits.
And there are other places that have stood the test of time, like Rye Country Store, which opened in the 1940s as the Rye Meat Market. Owner Claire Hassi says she’s on “the third generation of feeding Rye.” The Rye Camera Shop, founded by two Porto brothers back from World War II, is about to celebrate its 80th anniversary.
There’s something for everyone.
“I check them all out,” said one shopper.
So call it a small-town Hamptons, or a suburban SoHo. Or just call it the phoenix that has risen from the ashes of Sam Goody and the Smoke Shop right on Purchase Street.
