Muppet Stuff Shop in NY?

Cantus Rock

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Upon watching my copy of "Henson's Place," I learned of the all-Muppet store called "Muppet Stuff" on Lexington Ave. in New York. Can anyone give me information about the store? Is it still around? If not, when did it close? Any info is greatly appreciated.

-Matt
 

radionate

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I don't know the exact date that it closed, but if memory serves correctly it was sometime in the early 90's.

I never made it inside. I did make it to the storefront, only to discover it was closed. I literally cried.

I wasn't real familar with NYC, and when I saw the doorbell, I wanted to ring it to see if the shopkeeper would come out and open up the shop (I was like 10 or 12 at the time). I also wondered that if I rang it Sweetums would come out to tell me the store was closed.

There are some pictures of it in old Muppet Magazines if you can get your hands on some.
 

Buck-Beaver

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There was a chain of Muppet Stuff shops throughout the U.S. and Canada. It was started up (and shut down) in the 1980s. I believe the NY store was the last one to close. Here in Toronto we had one at the Scarborough Town Centre and Square One Mall too I think.

Outside of theme parks, the only thing close to this today are the Sesame Street shops in Japan (Sesame is HUGE there). I went to one at a mall in Kobe in 1998.
 

Cantus Rock

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Buck-Beaver said:
There was a chain of Muppet Stuff shops throughout the U.S. and Canada.
A chain? Hmm...interesting. Does anyone know of any other locations in the US before their closings?

-Matt
 

frogboy4

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:smile: Yes, yes, yes! You have asked the question at the right place. Muppet Stuff was an excellent store that folded in the mid-late 80s. The official year was mentioned in a thread last year.

I first learned of Muppet Stuff from an ad in Muppet Magazine. My family took a trip to Manhattan in when I was 7 and we visited the store. They'd always have a cool window display (as you might expect) and little Kermits were hand painted on the inside wall trim. The store was tiny.

The inside architecture wasn't remarkable, but they had Muppets stuffed in every square inch! If you'd like to see what it kind of looked like, flip to the collectibles page in The Works book. It kind of looked like that everywhere. Everything from Fraggle figures and wind-up Doozers to Muppet soaps, pencils and stationery. It was not a Sesame store, but there was some Sesame stuff. The Muppets, Muppet Babies and the Fraggles were the stars of this shop.

My Dad and I used to take a trip to NY once a year to see the shows and drop by Muppet Stuff. One year we went by and it had closed. I was about 14. I don't know why they couldn't keep such a small store open - especially with its mail-order business and NY location. It's now a flower shop. :cry:
 

Gonzo

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Cantus Rock said:
Any info is greatly appreciated.

-Matt
This obviously isn't the same thing, but there was also a chain of Sesame Street General Stores -- from about 1990 - 1997 I think, they were in a lot of malls and had MUCHO Sesame Street goodness for kids and adults.

I miss those stores.

And the funky Oscar who would rise up out of the trash can.

There are times in your life when you know you should max out a credit card in one place, because that place won't be there again. That was the feeling I had in January of 1996 at a Sesame Street General Store. I ignored it.

Fool.

:grouchy: :grouchy: :grouchy:

Quinnnnnnnnnnnnnn
 

frogboy4

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Those were cute stores too. I didn't like that they only had SS stuff but understand why. I generally spend my cash on TMS stuff. That Oscar was spectacular! They sold one on Ebay a few years ago. It inspired me to make my own Oscar garbage can out of plywood. I need to take a picture of that. :grouchy:
 

tomahawk

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That funky Oscar is now at the FAO store in Las Vegas.
 

Phillip

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The animatronic Oscar's been on eBay a few times for around $600-$1000 depending on the seller.
 
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