The Arizona-based “megastore” chain known for mass-merchandising lube and nipple clamps still hasn’t confirmed our report but the sign doesn’t lie. Broadway’s Castle sex store is leaving Capitol Hill’s main drag for a new berth on E Pike in a former tattoo shop.
Sandwiched between the Wildrose and Bimbos, the buildout is in the early stages of the new 2,000 square-foot store. In November, the new Out of the Closet thrift store and the new home AHF Pharmacy joined Lifelong in a new retail, health, and office facility across the street from where Castle is readying its new home. Around the corner, longtime Pike/Pine purveyor of kink The Crypt still lurks. Down E Pike, Babeland celebrated its 20th anniversary on the Hill in 2013. Meanwhile, Doghouse Leathers is expanding on upper E Pike.
Castle joins a thriving and sometimes tumultuous Pike/Pine nightlife economy still coming to grips with the Woo! Girl and what feels like an influx of not always sensitive new visitors.
CHS reported on the planned move in December after the retailer’s management had toyed with an on again, off again move from its longtime Broadway home citing public safety issues on Broadway and the poor maintenance of Castle’s building.
Broadway, meanwhile, will need to deal with another gaping retail hole after the OfficeMax chain confirmed it is closing its Capitol Hill location after only one year of business.
gaping hole. Haha. Gigglesnort.
Okay, I Iaughed. Men don’t mature, we just get older.
It’s unfortunate that there will be yet another large space vacant on Broadway. When the Castle management cites “public safety issues” as one of the reasons they are relocating, I wonder what they mean, specifically? Broadway is not an unsafe area as far as crime, so I assume they are talking about all the social dysfunction/homeless/addicts/panhandling that is so evident. These things can’t be good for business. Yes, I know that increasing rents are a major factor for businesses leaving Broadway, but that’s not the whole story.
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[…] the chain closed its Capitol Hill outlet earlier this year and the Castle Megastore is slated for a move to E Pike. Other, smaller retail shifts are underway. New ventures are coming — and coming — and […]
[…] won’t leave Pike/Pine without a dedicated sex shop. Earlier this year, Castle Megastore made the move from its expansive Broadway location to a tighter fit beneath the Wildrose. Meanwhile, Doghouse […]