Parm

Carbone is my favorite restaurant in the city, but if I don’t have the time to sit down there, I know I can always head over to Parm, get a seat, and have a solid chicken parm or hero. That’s why I fuck with Parm - it’s such an easy, simple spot for lunch or dinner; I guess you could call it Carbone Lite. There’s no scene, it’s not hyped, and there’s no pretension. The food is consistently on point, whether you’re getting a platter or a sandwich. Oh, the Italian fries are banging. I’d also say that Parm also has one of the better playlists I’ve heard at any restaurant in the city. Lastly, the location of the OG spot is unbeatable - even if it’s smaller and a little tucked away, I like that you can get a quick meal and bounce to anywhere else in Soho within minutes.

The Color House

I’d been developing film at other spots around the city for a while, but I started going to Color House because my buddy Darryl put me onto it. When I first started going by, I could tell by the people dropping rolls off that this shop was pretty official. The guys at Color House take time to make sure that your results are as good as they can be. It’s all in the details - aside from the image quality being super tight, they put all of your photos in a nice envelope and give you a CD with the digital files loaded on it. Obviously, most people don’t have optical drives anymore, so they have on-site computers that you can use to transfer files to USB drives. It’s just that level of personal attention that separates them from everyone else. Again, the last thing is location. You can’t beat Color House’s situation on Lafayette. They’re open pretty late, too, so if I’m in the area, I’ll grab a bite to eat, drop my film off, and head home.

The Good Company

To be honest, yesterday was the first time I’d actually been in the actual store, but I’d been following The Good Company and people who sell at their shop for a minute. Everyone knows this, but we’re living in a moment where people are so hung up on trends and what everyone else is doing. It’s all too reactive. I feel like The Good Company guys carved out a niche for themselves, move at their own pace, and are just humble kids who are doing it for creativity’s sake. It’s an attitude that I haven’t felt at a store like that in some time. They’ve got art up by Devin Troy Strother, they sell zines that their friends produce, their in-house brand is cool...all of that is made even better by the fact that none of it seemed to be done with the intent of ending up on social media. We all know how vital social is to a small business’ success, but I like The Good Company because they don’t seem to prioritize that. Instead, it’s just about good people making cool shit first. I just copped a tee that Peter Sutherland made that has this print of a crushed La Croix can on it.

Why is it important to support independent businesses?

It’s pretty crazy that you can start a business with an idea and an iPhone...and, if that idea is good, you can build a following - a community - around it. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important that there’s a balance between big and small businesses for the economy to function properly, but the best ideas are grown organically, and that’s why independent businesses are so essential. They can explore and cultivate those ideas without the restrictions that a large corporation might have to deal with. Look at something like Sweetgreen - what started as a pretty out-there idea at one spot in Georgetown has effectively made it so that everyone now wants to be more conscious about what and how they eat. So, again, someone with the autonomy to commit to an idea has to think of it, people have to gravitate towards (and support) it, and then, if it grows successfully, it can challenge entire industries to reconsider their practices. That’s pretty much it.