At Astor Place Hairstylists the other day, a businessman and a barber sat around talking razors. Electric, disposable, Harry’s, Schick, safety, straight: “It’s a three-billion-dollar industry!” Jonathan Trichter, the businessman, said. “When Gillette came out with the Mach 3, they put seven hundred fifty million into manufacturing and development. It took seven years.” Joel Valle,...Read More

Astor Place Hairstylists, the venerable barbershop that has stood in the East Village of Manhattan for about 75 years, almost closed during the pandemic. Not only has it survived, but the buzzing of clippers is now joined once a month by DJs who turn the 10,000 square-foot basement into a dance club.Read More

Food nerds love to wax on about the romance of the artisan, that (often imagined) person who is singularly devoted to the craft of cooking, of creating something with their hands, always prioritizing deliciousness over profits. These are the people training their dogs to sniff out truffles in the woods of Alba, the Thai street...Read More

In the lower part of New York City’s Manhattan, there sits a one-block street called Astor Place. It’s home to some of the most iconic barber shops in America, including the legendary Astor Place Hairstylists that’s been at the helm of the NYC community for the past 75 years. Over the course of the pandemic,...Read More