Lower East Side Institution, MOSCOT Is Here to Stay: After 77 Years, MOSCOT Moves From One Corner of Orchard & Delancey to the Other Corner of Orchard & Delancey

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Dec 11, 2012) - After 77 years on the corner of Orchard and Delancey, MOSCOT is moving... to the corner of Orchard and Delancey. Their iconic building at 118 Orchard Street having been sold, with plans to raze the building, the Lower East Side institution was determined to stay close. Finding a new location, literally across the street -- and also on the corner of Orchard and Delancey -- at 108 Orchard, was about as propitious as it gets.

"Change can be difficult, especially after so many decades in one spot. But opening a new shop is very exciting -- particularly this one, and in this location. In a way, it's very much a stake in the ground for the next generation of MOSCOT, and the Moscot family," said Harvey Moscot, Co-President of the Company. "Just as my great grandfather, Hyman, opened our first shop on Rivington Street, and my grandfather Sol, moved MOSCOT to 118 Orchard Street, it is truly an honor to open 108 Orchard -- a genuine opportunity to keep tradition alive for my son, Zack Moscot, the fifth generation of Moscots who will join the Company in June of this year."

MOSCOT will recreate the gestalt of 118 Orchard at 108 by incorporating all of the quirky and historical tchotchkes and treasures accumulated over the past eight decades that make its shop such a unique, eclectic, visually engaging, and just plain fun space to hang out in and purchase eyewear. And at nearly 2200 square feet, the new ground floor space will have plenty of room to house The MOSCOT Gallery & Music Space -- an intimate venue for live music (the likes of which have all but disappeared from the LES), and a showcase for photos and other memorabilia commemorating the Moscot family and Lower East Side's history.

MOSCOT History will abound at 108 Orchard. The Thrones of MOSCOT -- the Peg and Groove chairs Grandpa Sol purchased in 1938 that fans still pop a squat in -- will be crossing Delancey, as will 118's handmade Dovetail joint drawers, installed behind the counter in 1939, which still hold The LEMTOSH, NEBB and friends today. Even its new corner on the south east side has a story to tell: first the site of old-law tenements, then demolished in 1936 to build the Public National Bank and Trust Company... and now, MOSCOT.

"There are only four corners on Orchard and Delancey, and we get the other one! How incredible is that?" added Wendy Simmons, MOSCOT Co-President. "It cannot be overstated how instrumental Mark Miller, President of The Lower East Side Bid, was in helping us secure our new home. Like us, Mark could not imagine Orchard Street without MOSCOT. We're just so lucky, and we feel so happy, and most importantly... we're here to stay!"

The new MOSCOT shop at 108 Orchard is expected to open in the spring of 2013. Throughout the construction, the current 118 Orchard Street shop will remain open for business, as will the Company's 14^th Street and Court Street shop locations.

ABOUT MOSCOT
MOSCOT is a New York City institution renowned worldwide for its iconic eyewear -- The MOSCOT Originals, MOSCOT Spirit, and MOSCOT Sun Collections. MOSCOT infuses its unmistakably refined, downtown aesthetic with nearly 100 years of eyewear expertise and unparalleled craftsmanship to create its timeless eyewear. While now recognized as a global fashion brand, MOSCOT remains, at heart, a neighborhood optical shop.