The Best Shopping in Coney Island Is the Brooklyn Beach Shop

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There are so many wonderful things about Coney Island, and one of them is the Brooklyn Beach Shop. It's right on the boardwalk, and might be the best place to wrap up a day of sun (and funnel cake, and boardwalk games, and the Wonder Wheel, and pineapple drinks from Margarita Island, in my case). That, and the Nathan’s a few yards away.

The shop stocks a really solid selection of Brooklyn T-shirts and sweatshirts that aren’t embarrassing to purchase and wear. There’s plenty of practical beach gear to pick up — sunscreen, blankets, and Baggu totes to throw it all in — but the real buys are the novelty New York City souvenirs, which are a lot more Brooklyn-indie-boutique than they are annoying-Midtown-tourist-stand. Think illustrated jigsaw puzzles, children's books that double as coffee table books for adults, Tattly tattoos, and screen-printed dishtowels.

Photo: Brooklyn Beach Shop

Unfortunately the store's Square shop doesn't really do it justice, and they're not active on Instagram, so to check it out, you kind of have to do the old-fashioned thing and just physically go there. The address is 1223 Boardwalk West; here’s an adorable map of the area.

Photo: Brooklyn Beach Shop