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A store built on the idea that you should be able to try one bag of chips before committing to a case of them is setting up shop on a busy Village block. It comes after a pair of downtown pop-ups earlier this year that drew lines, a visit from NBC and a steady stream of TikTok haul videos.
The Shelf is moving into 58 West 8th Street, between Sixth Avenue and MacDougal Street, according to the store’s website.
Founder Sloane Kraftsow, 25, is a Miami Beach native who studied at the University of Texas at Austin. She ran The Shelf as a pop-up at 173 Elizabeth Street in Nolita in early 2026, then extended it into a larger space at 2 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side, which Parasol Projects described as one of its longest-running activations of the year. NBC New York’s “New York Live” stopped by in March.
The pitch is simple: the store stocks emerging food, drink, beauty and lifestyle brands before they land in mainstream retail, and everything is sold by the single unit. The lineup rotates constantly, products sell out, and brand founders show up in person. Snacks are the core of it, sorted into salty, sweet, saucy, protein and chilled sections, with early examples including BonBon potato chips, Byte’m brownie bites and Strip Jerky, plus sauces and a range of drinks. Beyond the pantry, the store carries beauty products, pet grooming items, a small selection of “sexy” products and its own line of merch.
Kraftsow frames the concept as a launchpad for small brands as much as a store for shoppers. In a June press release published through Entrepreneur, she said brands that debut at The Shelf get content support and sales data, and that one of them, Cotto, was picked up by four major NYC grocers within three weeks of launching there. “Trial creates cart conversion,” she said. “Content creates trial. Curation creates credibility.”
For people who’d rather have the discovering done for them, there’s a subscription box. The Shelf Monthly includes six to eight full-size products a month, with gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and no-restrictions options.
We reached out to The Shelf for a target opening date; we’ve been told they’re aiming for the week of October 12.
The store is offering a “First 100” program for early sign-ups that includes a Polaroid on the wall, a free matcha on opening day and word of the opening date before it’s announced anywhere else.
For updates, follow @theshelfnyc on Instagram.
