The quirkiest stores in NYC

Now, of course, we don't condone smoking, but Biggie's Bodega sure does make it look cool: the Dime Square den focuses on all the ways that puffing and pulling has changed over the years. Among the "tobbacania" on offer are antique smoking pieces like table ashtrays, Japanese lighters and midcentury tobacco tins, but there are plenty of curiosities beneanth that red-and-white striped awning for non-smokers to enjoy, too. No-nicotine-necessary goods include 1960s sodas, vintage magazines, old-fashioned Stuckey's candies and more. 

This mysterious shop—where you can buy such superhero-themed novelties as capes, X-ray goggles and gallon tins of "immortality"—is actually a front (and money earner) for the nonprofit 826NYC, a kids’ writing, tutoring and publishing center (a chapter of the San Francisco outfit founded by novelist Dave Eggers and educator Ninive Calegari). Hidden behind a concealed door, your antigravity elixir and sidekick cape are waiting!

Equally bewitching as a scene out of Hocus Pocus, this East Village fixture has been trading in all things Wicca since the '80s. Check out the incense-filled emporium for motherwort, frankincense tears, and oils and herbs. And be sure to check out the boutique’s wide variety of tarot cards—because the future doesn’t have to be unpredictable, right?

A skeleton stands guard outside of this cavelike spot, suggesting that a jaunt here is not for the faint of heart. It’s true: The taxidermied animal heads and skeletal jaws lining the walls of the joint since it opened back in 1993 provide a frightening sight. Also check out the slightly creepy collectibles including replica skulls of wolves, hyenas and lions ($39–$395); brooches crafted out of genuine beetles ($29); and mounted man-eating piranhas ($129). But beyond freaky stuff, the natural selection can also include gorgeous curios, like displays of blue-morpho butterflies ($69-$149) and eye-popping rock formations.

This Upper East Side purveyor distinguishes itself from other antique shops with its unusual hyperfocus: it boasts the largest selection of antique and vintage globes in the U.S. Founded by the titular George, who was a prominent New York City map and art dealer before he started the gallery-slash-store in 1993, the shop also has a wide selection of maps, from old-world chartings to pictorial and celestial options. 

A brick-and-mortar expansion of Luisa Navarro’s digital lifestyle brand, this vibrant Carroll Gardens shop opened in May 2021 to celebrate all things Mexico and counter negative stereotypes about the country’s beautiful culture. Inside the 150-square-foot store, shoppers can find everything from hand-stitched otomi pillows to huarache slide sandals, angelito ornaments to avocado-oil soaps, and Frida Kahlo art books to floral tequila shot glasses.

Craving international snacks? You can forgo a pricey plane ticket and instead head down to the Lower East Side, where this snack shop offers up flavors and brands of chips, candies, beverages and more that you usually can't source stateside. We're talking Doritos Flamin' Hot peanuts from Australia, Pepsi White Peach from China, Nestle Koko Krunch cereal from Thailand and Cinnabon-flavored chunky Kit Kats from Dubai. Get snacking!

Do you have a bookshelf practically heaving with romance novels? Add to your saucy collection at this indie Park Slope bookstore lovingly dedicated to the genre. Owned by sisters Leah Koch and Bea Hodges-Koch, the Brooklyn brick-and-mortar is the city of the Los Angeles original and it’s similarly stacked with sultry titles across a wide array of subjects, from erotica to paranormal to LGBTQ. (Recent bestsellers include Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series and Elissa Sussman’s Funny You Should Ask.) In addition to books, the store has a wide selection of gift items (bucket hats, enamel pins) with a focus on supporting independent, woman owned businesses.