A unique mercantile and general store is preparing to open its second location in Manhattan just in time for the holiday shopping season.
Solstad House will debut at 167 Mott St.
Owners Stephen Yount and Frank Martinez opened the original store in Beacon in 2019, just a year after moving to the area. They envisioned a welcoming space where they could connect with their new community.
“We were both looking for something besides the daily grind where we could connect. I had a retail background, and we thought it would be an easy, fun thing to do with New York-centric products,” Yount told Whatnow New York City.
The duo chose NoLita for its familiarity, while the neighborhood also offers a homecoming for Yount, who lived there in the early 2000s after first moving to New York City.
“It’s nostalgic. When we moved to Beacon full time, we missed the city. We have been talking about coming to the city with Solstad House for two to three years because it really exploded with popularity in Beacon. The most exciting thing is being back on a regular basis,” he said.
Set within a Nordic-inspired rustic interior, the NoLita shop will maintain the brand’s curated selection of products while incorporating a slightly edgier aesthetic.
Solstad House offers an eclectic selection of merchandise, ranging from home accessories and everyday essentials to books, toys, games and puzzles. The store also carries personal care products, pantry staples and food items, along with a dedicated dog section featuring small-batch treats and grooming supplies.
The duo are passionate about supporting senior dog rescues, having adopted senior dogs themselves. Their Beacon shop already supports the initiative, and they plan to extend those efforts to NoLita.
“We have a fundraising program with vintage lamps, where 100% of the sales go to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary [in Tennessee]. We want to have some element of that here. We don’t have enough space for a vintage lamp section, but we want some vintage quirky stuff to raise money for dog rescue,” he said.
Yount is excited to bring the shop to what he considers the “coolest neighborhood” in the city.
“It’s right across the street from Ceres Pizza and Milkweed Coffee. It’s right next door to chef [Sam Lawrence] of Michelin-starred Bridges, who’s opening a new restaurant. It’s a cool developing block, and seeing all these businesses kind of turn keys around the same time is very fun,” he said.
Solstad House plans to open in December. Visit the website and follow along on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates.
