Update: Ricky’s has permanently closed.
After 25 years of business, Ricky’s is closing its Upper West Side store. Signs are on display in the store window, with a 50% sale off some of their products. The store will likely close its doors in August. The company has been struggling for some time, with other locations closing recently. The Astoria location closed in April, and the Tribeca location closed in July of 2018.
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Store Offerings
Ricky’s NYC, whose motto is “Looking Good! Feeling Good!” had been featured nationally in fashion magazines such as Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, People, and more over the years since its opening.
The beauty supply store sells a wide variety of hair care and cosmetic products from brands such as Manic Panic, Redken, Sally Hershberger, Stila, Burts Bees, CHI, OPI, Essie and more.
Ricky’s is a self-proclaimed “edgy, ultra-hip beauty shop”, that specializes in professional haircare and nail supplies. The store even has its own label of nail polish, RickyColor.
Ricky’s History
Since 1989, Ricky’s NYC has been a part of New York’s urban chic culture. For over two decades, anyone from teenagers to Hollywood celebrities and their professional stylists have enjoyed Ricky’s. Ricky’s NYC hosts a diverse, cult-like following of clientele.
The store’s founder, Ricky Kenig, opened Ricky’s NYC under its original name of “Ricky Love” in the Greenwich Village in 1989. “At the time no one ever went down past 34th Street,” Kenig had said. The store originally became popular amongst downtown residents – a colorful community of drag queens and fashion mavens.
Ricky’s NYC’s offered eclectic style and funky ideas. They made headlines for drag costumes and for catering to the gay community of NYC in the 80s and 90s.
Ricky’s lists other open locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Miami, but competition has risen from other stores like Duane Reade and Sephora.
Customers on the UWS raved about Ricky’s saying that it was”part of the NYC experience”.
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