Fashion boutiques try on Pioneer Square

There's a candy store in Pioneer Square that isn't really a candy store.

It's a front for a men's shoe boutique, and owner John Mooney keeps the secret like a tight-lipped heavy outside a Prohibition-era watering hole.

A few times a day, people buy Nerds or rock candy or red licorice from him without noticing the sneakers in the window or the music playing in a backroom.

"If they're not paying attention to the hints, I don't tell them it's a shoe store," Mooney said.

He wants clients to feel they've discovered something special. Even the shoes at Gems Sneaker Shop — which range from $70 to $325 — are unique, with just one pair for each size in every style.

It's a stealth move in a stretch of the Pioneer Square district that's already under the radar, but catching the attention of high-end boutique owners because of its low rents and proximity to a lively art scene.

Three fashion shops have opened near Western Avenue and Yesler Way since the recession started, and a fourth is coming this month.

They're braving hard economic times and a neighborhood that can be rough on retailers.

Elliott Bay Book Co. owner Peter Aaron said this week he is talking to bankers and hopes to decide by year-end whether he will move the iconic bookstore out of Pioneer Square.

The owners of small local chains, including Fireworks gift boutique and Trabant Coffee & Chai, have said sales at their Pioneer Square shops are more sluggish than at other locations.

Retail sales in Pioneer Square flattened in 2008, and fell 28 percent in the first half of this year, according to the Washington Department of Revenue. That excludes restaurant and hotel sales, which are also down.

Gems was the first of the new boutiques to open, in June 2008. Just since then, it has lost neighbors including Snowboard Connection and the furniture store Limm.

Mooney knew from working at Timberland Boot Co. that the recession might be brutal for retailing, but decided "if you're going to take a risk, it doesn't matter if it's a recession or not."

For shoppers not in the mood for candy, another nearby boutique has more of a deli feel. In fact, it's called Deli and displays jeans and T-shirts in deli cases and on bakery bread racks. The dressing room is made to look like a walk-in cooler.

Its owner, Max Heigh, opened there in May because he liked the neighborhood and the low rent.

"Pioneer Square was untapped, without much retail," he said. "I also noticed the whole art vibe that goes on here and I really dug that. Art and fashion go hand in hand."

Heigh, who manages the Great American Bagel shops at Sea-Tac airport for his mother, takes part in the First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square.

One freezer case holds T-shirts designed by local artists, including Kim McCarthy, who hung out at Deli during Thursday night's art walk. On the walls were her spray-painted stencils of Buddha, Christopher Walken and Hannibal Lecter.

Another new boutique, Neodandi House of Couture, opened in August in a former gallery where its designer, NiiLartey De Osu, had exhibited artwork just before it closed.

"Some of us are calling it 'Fashion Row,' " said Neodandi manager Richael Karter. "We're putting it out there that there's a lot of cutting-edge fashion down here."

She likened Pioneer Square today to the Meatpacking District in Manhattan and Gastown in Vancouver, B.C., in their early revival years.

The recession seems to be spurring Neodandi's growth. After six years without a storefront, De Osu and his wife, Ullie De Osu, are headed to New York to open a second shop next year.

"This is the perfect time to make it happen, when everyone else pulls in," Karter said. "It's the best time to get real estate and get a jump on the curve."

Karen Mayers Gamoran has more sentimental reasons for choosing Western Avenue for a vintage-clothing boutique she plans to open this month. A portion of sales will go to philanthropic causes, and the people who donate clothes will get a tax write-off.

The Polson Building has long been in her family, and she remembers visiting as a child when her father ran Ace Novelty from the building.

"A lot of people have said, 'Are you sure you don't want to go into Bellevue?' " Gamoran said. But she sees Pioneer Square's problems, including too many empty storefronts, and wants to be part of reviving it.

"I think to myself, why is it still looking like that? It's such a beautiful part of the city. This is the Gold Rush; this is where it all started," Gamoran said. "It never reached its potential, although it's started to."

— Melissa Allison

Seattle-based retailer Nordstrom posted a 2.2 percent increase in November same-store sales Thursday, meeting Wall Street's expectation. Monthly sales at established full-line clothing stores fell 0.6 percent from a year ago, while they rose 3.3 percent at off-price Rack stores open at least a year. Sales for the direct division, which includes Nordstrom's Web site, shot up 22.9 percent. — AM

Costco Wholesale's stock fell 3 percent Thursday, to $59.02, after the Issaquah company reported a 6 percent boost to same-store sales for November, below what analysts expected. It was an improvement from last November's 5 percent drop. International stores drove the increase, with a 21 percent boost. U.S. stores were up only 2 percent. Costco reports earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 next Thursday. — MA

Seattle was slighted when the new Jimmy Choo line for H&M hit select stores nationwide last month. Ten stores in four cities — New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago — were chosen for the much-anticipated collection. So what's a local frugal fashionista to do? Think lingerie instead. H&M stores nationwide, including Seattle, will begin selling a new lingerie collection by French fashion house Sonia Rykiel this Saturday. Prices range from $13 for a thong to $34 for a corset. — AM

Remember when Starbucks sued a little New Hampshire company over coffee blends called Charbucks? Eight years later, the lawsuit is back. Bloomberg reports that a federal appeals court vacated part of a ruling in favor of Black Bear Micro Roastery in Tuftonboro, N.H., giving Starbucks another shot at proving the Charbucks and Mister Charbucks blends dilute its trademark. — MA

Nancy Meyer Fine Lingerie, a mainstay of the downtown Seattle shopping scene, has reopened after a top-to-bottom makeover of its Fifth Avenue storefront in the Skinner Building. Owner Vicky Hill closed the store in late September to let local artisans go to work on redecorating the walls, counters and dressing rooms. The 600-square-foot store has a new taupe-colored interior so that the lingerie can stand out, Hill said, adding, "We wanted your eye to go to the lingerie." — AM

Retail Report appears Fridays. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com.