Days Numbered for Jimmy Jazz at 86 Delancey

It appears that the days are numbered for the Jimmy Jazz outpost at the northeast corner of Delancey and Orchard Streets.  Hanging in the window of 86 Delancey is an advertisement indicating that the space is for lease by 2001 Real Estate.  According to their website, the property includes 1,200 square-feet on the ground level, plus basement area [pdf].  We called to gain more information, and a gentleman who works there confirmed that they are indeed leaving. No word on exactly when or if the store will re-locate in the neighborhood.

Jimmy Jazz has been in the urban outfitter business for over two decades, helmed by President and founder James Khezrie.  Specifically named after the memorable Clash song, the first store opened on Delancey in 1988 (that real estate was razed last year to make way for the new Chang Holiday Inn).  From there, the company would eventually balloon to include over thirty branches in the Five Boroughs alone.  Today, the company boasts roughly 120 stores on main streets and malls along the East Coast.

In a 2000 interview with Sporting Goods Business, Khezrie said the following of his brand:

I have been in retail since I was 18 years old. I used to help my father out in his store on Delancey Street. I saw the demand in the boroughs for better merchandise. Back then, high-end merchandise was only available in department stores. In the boroughs, you’d buy schlocky merchandise. I saw that demand and at that same time, Tommy Hilfiger came along and Polo and Guess? and Nautica, and basically we ran with them. We gave the customers in the boroughs something that previously was only available in the malls or department stores. The customers reacted very well to it.

And how could we not…

[The Clash, live in Paris, 1980]