14 MARCH 2 0 2 1
Community Curated
Side B showcases products by local vendors
BY ALLISON KRIDLE
As the pandemic put a strain on our
local businesses, the community came
together to support their favorite neighborhood
spots by shopping small. In
the midst of this time of change, the
eclectic shop Side B opened its doors
in Astoria.
Located off of 34th Avenue, Side B is
owned by Lyn Chin, who initially moved
to Astoria in 2010, left in 2012 and
found her way back with her husband
in 2018. The small business owner
worked in retail and fashion designer
consulting for about seven years before
opening Side B. Her eye for buying and
retail came in handy when launching
her own business.
“I didn’t think I was going to open a
store; I just thought I wanted a whole
other life. Retail is what I know and I
couldn’t see myself doing anything
else,” Chin said.
Before opening Side B’s physical doors
in December 2020, Chin launched the
store's website on Thanksgiving just in
time for an online retail crawl organized
by Shop Small Astoria.
“These days you can’t just do brick
and mortar. Online shopping is a huge
component right now for retail,” Chin
said.
Even though online shopping is significant
now more than ever for small
business owners and their customers,
scrolling through Side B’s online store is
a completely different experience than
chatting with Chin about the products
merchandised on her shelves. Many of
which were made by local artisans and
small-batch makers.
EXPLORE YOUR BORO