You know it's spooky season when Spirit Halloween stores begin to pop up in defunct retail spaces throughout the U.S.

Now that it's August, Spirit Halloween stores are beginning to set up and open around the nation, ready to provide us with our tacky Joe Exotic costumes and licensed Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise galore — not exactly luxury goods.

Ironically, one of the company's newest locations sits on 101 Seventh Avenue in Chelsea, New York City, which New Yorkers may remember as the previous home of the original Barneys store.

The former luxury department store shut down in 2020, just one year after the company filed for bankruptcy. (The flagship store, which was just a few blocks away, also shut down.) The location features a stunning central spiral staircase and glamorous white hallways, making it an unusual pick for the "No. 1 Halloween costume store."

According to Commercial Observer, the location was previously going for $40 million. The storefront features 51,942-square feet of property and sits at the base of a 19-story condo building. After Barneys shut down, the area remained relatively empty... until Spirit Halloween took it over for the fall season.

Barneys was so beloved that customers created a petition to save the store last year.

"In a few short days we are at risk of losing a cultural institution that has been an anchor point for the city for almost a century," organizer Ben-Avraham wrote.  "Its impact on culture cannot be understated. The brand as we know it today will disappear from our lives if it becomes an intellectual property license operation. Its unique identity, its point of view, its cutting edge agenda will be lost."

As for Spirit Halloween, the company opened 1,400 storefronts last year. Even in the face of the pandemic, the Halloween shop franchise still managed to succeed.

Iconic Retail Stores That Don’t Exist Anymore

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