SoHo porn store is no hum dinger
NEW YORK City is porn again.
Black Friday coincided this year with the grand opening of an upscale SoHo pop-up store promoting the popular adult website Pornhub.
“The whole vibe is great,” said award-winning porn star, director and author Asa Akira after visiting the outre outlet. “I honestly thought it was going to be a little sleazier . . . . I love what they did.”
Holiday shoppers found an assortment of sex toys, along with handcuffs in silver, black and gold. There was also, improbably, a line of T-shirts and other clothes.
“I think it’s great that it’s here,” said shopper Jessica Griffo, 40, who came to Wooster St. from Washington Heights. “I love Pornhub. I utilize Pornhub at home. And it’s nice that there’s a store.”
Griffo was among the early arrivals at the SoHo locale with its modern, minimalist feel — a far cry from the old Times Square peep shows.
Yet shopper Jesus Ayala, 39, who came down to the shop with Griffo, was hardly impressed on opening day for the pop-up due to close Dec. 20.
“It’s super-tame,” he groused. “It’s nothing special. It’s a porn shop with toys. I’m glad it’s here, but I would’ve wanted something that was less boring.”
The front entrance featured a furry black archway, and anyone under the age of 18 was banned. A fur-lined gold phone piped in the sounds of passion for interested shoppers, and rolls of “bondage tape” were available.
Attendance could run high if the website’s 64 million daily users ever get out of their homes. Despite the array of erotic merchandise, Griffo said she actually planned to buy a book for her sister — who had tipped her to the grand opening.
Among the literary offerings: “The Adult Adult Coloring Book” and “Asarotica,” an anthology of erotic short stories edited by Akira.