Sure as the sun will rise and set, the Lower East Side continues to gentrify as more and more "coolguys" and the folks who follow their lead flock to this hot spot neighborhood in NYC.

While there is little information out there, EMERGE has gotten word that Mike Malbon of hipster consultancy Malbon Brothers Farms ("We Grow Brands") and street culture periodical Frank 151 is poised to open Chop Shop, which is destined to be a destination spot for hipster consumers as well as a social focal point for the kinds of folks that thrive within and on the Brand Underground.

It's an interesting idea and one that deserves quality execution. On the West Coast, of course, there is Rudy's Barbershop, a chain of "hipster Supercuts" (to quote one disgruntled customer on Yelp) which have featured artist installations by the likes of Ojas of Nom De Guerre, and has a branch inside the uber-cool Ace Hotel. But Rudy's is widely criticized for it's cooler than thou attitude, making it much more akin to a high-end hair salon than a neighborhood barbershop. Chop Shop looks to undestand this essential distinction.

Knowing Malbon's deep connections to the hip-hop and street art scenes, it's more than likely that Chop Shop will wind up functioning a bit like the barbershop in Barbershop, which is to say that it will be a place for guys to get together and talk trash, gossip, compare war stories, and get their looks together for a night out on the town.

If customers need a little more than a skin fade and new baseball cap, the aNYthing shop and Rockers NYC office/studio are right around the corner.

via Keith Hufnagel's blog on Honeyee

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