The jokes are easy, the irony almost too obvious to even mention: the Limelight, one of New York City’s most iconic, most deliriously decadent, most flat-out fun nightclubs of the 1980s and into the ’90s, is now, basically, a mall. Where once the city’s most A-list-iest club kids danced and partied past dawn, suburban tweens and Ohio tourists now wolf cupcakes and plop down $25 for flip-flops. Etcetera. The Limelight Marketplace NYC opened last Friday, and though we weren’t convinced by the decor (it’s all a bit too Garden City), this is our city today, and there were enough genuinely appealing shops–mostly in the sweet-treats category–for us to return… with out-of-town visitors. 

 

The Limelight Marketplace in New York is, of course, housed in that great old stone church on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 20th Street. On opening weekend some 60 different retailers filled the three-story site with "boutiques": in nooks, on carts, or simply by setting out their wares on a bit of counter space. Some used the Limelight NYC church’s quirks–stained glass windows, narrow stairwells, semi-hidden recesses–to good effect, such as Jon Wye, the luxe men’s clothing and accessory purveyor (there are some nice wallets and belts here, by the way) who spruced up their space with a leather armchair and a bizarrely realistic "fireplace." And Mariebelle, who makes some of the best chocolate in town (the beautifully "painted" truffles are delicious, but we like the various barks even more) did a great job with their Cacao Bar and Cafe, in a "sky box" overlooking the soaring main space.  

 

There’s a whole beauty section in the Limelight Marketplace, on a second floor corridor, featuring the likes of Caswell Massey, Sue Devitt, and Om Aroma. This area wouldn’t feel out of place in Macy’s. Brocade Home has a nicely designed nook and a windowed corner space on the second floor, if you’re shopping for furniture. And coming soon: real lunch and dinner food from an outpost of Brooklyn’s famous Grimaldi’s Pizza. as well as a mysterious, generically named "Gastropub".