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September 24, 2019

New retailer puts best foot forward on Chapel St.

PHOTOS | New Haven Biz Sneaker Junkies opened at 976 Chapel Street on September 1, but staged its official ribbon-cutting Monday afternoon.

“Kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find,” sang Paul Revere & the Raiders back in 1966.

But not in 2019, and not on Chapel Street in downtown New Haven.

Specifically, 976 Chapel Street, where fashion-forward footwear and athletic-wear retailer Sneaker Junkies celebrated its opening with a ribbon-cutting Monday afternoon under the auspices of landlord Yale University Properties and the Shops at Yale.

Co-proprietors Maher Najjar and Bilal Jaber opened their first store in Providence, R.I. in 2007, later expanding to Boston’s Back Bay. Now, with a gleaming new store at the site of the former Running Co. store, Sneaker Junkies has hit the big time — ”completing the New England trifecta,” in the words of Mayor Toni N. Harp, who helped to cut the ceremonial ribbon.

Jaber said he and Najjar were drawn to the Elm City’s College/Chapel retail district in part due to its similar economic and demographic profile to Providence’s College Hill and its neighbor, Brown University, as well as downtown New Haven’s growing mix of upscale retailers.

Jaber said his store, which opened for business Sept. 1 and to date has hired two full-time and three-part-time workers, specializes in selling “a premium product at a reasonable price.”

Sole food: These Nike Air Max kicks retail for $140 at Sneaker Junkies.

In addition to athletic footwear by Nike, Adidas, Saucony, New Balance and Asics, Sneaker Junkies sells fashion-forward apparel and accessories by Billionaire Boys Club, Cult of Individuality, 10 Deep, Paper Planes and Kappa.

“We are delighted to welcome and support entrepreneurs in opening up stores in New Haven,” said Lauren Zucker, Yale’s associate vice president for New Haven affairs and University Properties. “Yale University’s community-investment program supports independently owned businesses, bringing jobs to New Haven residents and expanding the city’s tax base.”

Sneaker Junkies is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, until 9 p.m. weekends and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.

 

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