The Last Suit Shop on the Lower East Side Stays Open for a Chance of Romance
“I should’ve been a comedian instead.”
New Era Factory Outlet on Orchard Street may find itself in high demand due to virtual weddings on the rise. Photo by Alexandria Misch for Canal Street News
If you ask Robert Zaiger, young people these days don’t know how to be romantic. “A candle in the middle of the table, a bottle of champagne, a lobster dinner,” the 64-year-old original owner of New Era Factory Outlet went on to describe his ideal quarantine date. “Well, maybe not lobster,” he reconsidered. “I could never boil an animal alive.” Instead, veal parmesan with clams, he said, is the kind of meal that deserves to be eaten, if possible, in a full tuxedo—cummerbund included—by lovers in the time of coronavirus.
While this sort of mentality might elicit an “ok boomer” response from skeptics, it can be argued that the dynamic duo behind the Lower East Side suit shop knows a thing or two about the secret to a lasting relationship. Zaiger and his wife, Vivian, who handles the administrative side of New Era, recently celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary on April 5, albeit safely—social distancing-style. “We’re old and paranoid,” he assured.
Since they would otherwise be self-isolating in their home at Second Avenue and 17th Street, the pair decided—unlike the remainder of the old-school Orchard Street clothing stores—to keep New Era open during the pandemic, occasionally calling in their honorary third co-worker—a dog named Dr. Pepper—to keep them company during “40 years worth of cleanup” and wait for orders that may not come for months. “People don’t have enough money to eat right now,” he acknowledged. “But some in the area,” he alluded to the rising cost of rent within the 10002 zip code. “Can afford to spend a few hundred bucks on a nice night.” (Which, in this case, would also allow them to walk away with a shiny three-piece suit for $99.)
After he found himself at a loss when concerns over COVID-19 canceled group gatherings, Zaiger took to promoting his idyllic proposal for a romantic night indoors on a handwritten sign and placed it in the front window of his shop. “NEED A TUXEDO FOR” the sign suggested proms, cruises, graduations, galas and award dinners were out of the question. “Candlelit dinner with your girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse,” it concluded as the legitimate reason for shopping New Era’s inventory at the moment. Zaiger said 30 or so people have stopped to laugh or take a photo—though no one has taken him up on his idea yet.
“I should’ve been a comedian instead,” he joked, although—in another life—Zaiger alternatively could have sought fortune at Coney Island with his well-documented ability to accurately guess suit sizes on the spot. (“With one glance, Robert guessed my pants, jacket, and shirt sizes—like a tuxedo fitting hawk! Cacaw!” claimed one five-star Yelp review from a satisfied customer in Brooklyn.) Zaiger has been selling suits since 1980 at the same location between Grand and Hester streets and said all he needs—even when consulting over the phone—is a height and waist size to determine a proper fit, unless someone is “very muscular.”
New Era Factory Outlet owners Robert and Vivian Zaiger outside of the suit shop at 63 Orchard Street during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Alexandria Misch for Canal Street News
Similar to the inability of takeout and delivery to sustain the restaurant industry, Zaiger doesn’t expect one-off suits to carry the “crushing” New York City rent, as the bulk of New Era’s business comes from major or ongoing events like the Met Gala or wedding season. (Zaiger said last-minute Tony Award attendees flock to the shop before the annual ceremony at Radio City Hall, which always accounts for the busiest day of the year.) “I’m about to beg and plead with my landlord,” he said at the end of April. “[The Paycheck Protection Program] should have been limited to small businesses with less than 50 employees—not 500. Who has 500 employees? Tyson? The Los Angeles Lakers?” he questioned. “Those aren’t small businesses.”
But the lower Manhattan renaissance man who decided to bet big on any big hearts left in “The Big Apple” may find his suit services high in demand soon, once the executive order allowing couples to get married via video call goes into full effect.
“We need moments of joy now more than ever, and we won’t let a pandemic get in the way of true love,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press release announcing "Project Cupid”—the new digital system built to allow city clerks to certify marriages over services like Zoom. "Coronavirus has changed the world in so many ways, but our ability to love and commit to each other hasn't wavered,” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in the same release, which noted Project Cupid—expected to go live this week—will be available in 11 languages and offer on-demand translation services for any couple in need. But virtual and social-distance weddings have already transcended from impromptu to pragmatic for reasons of health insurance and sentimentality.
On April 30, thanks to the powers vested in Spectrum News anchor Pat Kiernan, NY1 viewers witnessed the on-air union of Matt Haicken and Julie Raskin, who wore a suit and gown respectively, and encouraged family and friends to treat the occasion like the black-tie affair it was meant to be in the fall of 2020. After reciting their vows under a chuppah, Kiernan passed the microphone to “Mornings on 1” co-host Jamie Stelter before the couple broke the glass per Jewish tradition. “Some say [the breaking of the glass] represents the fact that marriage holds both joy and sorrow at the same time—just in the same way that right now we hold the sorrow of our city and our world at the same time, we’re holding your joy and love at the same time,” she told the couple. The whole ceremony, including an Alicia Keys “New York” outro, wrapped in under six minutes.
Project Cupid-official or not, people all over the city are finding unconventional causes for celebration during the coronavirus, especially when it comes to showing love for NYC. “Can’t wait to eat a candlelit dinner on the fire escape with my WIFE, New York City,” Kaitlyn Tiffany said on Twitter. The Atlantic writer told Canal Street News she was “kind of kidding” but does plan on having dinner al fresco to celebrate her five-year anniversary with the city. “Maybe I’ll actually bring a candle out,” she said, proving at least one millennial has the potential to keep the flame alive. (As long as there are no lobsters harmed in the making of her love story, Zaiger would presumably approve.)
If lighting a candle for a city that feels like it's already on fire, tying the knot over Wi-Fi or popping a bottle of bubbly “just because” seems absurd given the circumstances, one should remember they live in a society that falls in love over the internet—and with inanimate objects—every day. Why shouldn’t someone solidify the moment, even amidst a global crisis, in at least a sports coat?
“It happened to me,” read the end of Tiffany’s tweet. “I’m that woman who married the Eiffel Tower except my life is perfect.” C'est la vie, in both sorrow and joy, is certainly cause for celebration.
And, if able, a great excuse for a finely-fitted suit.
New Era Factory Outlet is open for business during COVID-19. To order a tuxedo, sport coat, dress suit or shirt, visit www.newdresssuits.com, email RZVZ@aol.com or call 212-966-4959 for a consultation.
New Era Factory Outlet
63 Orchard St.
New York, NY 10002
(212) 966-4959
