Madewell opened the doors to its second Brooklyn store on Wednesday, bringing the denim brand to a restored 19th-century factory building at 51 Bergen Street in Cobble Hill. The 4,500-square-foot shop sits on the ground floor of a structure originally built as a horse-drawn carriage factory in the 1800s before later functioning as a belt factory, and the renovation kept much of that industrial character intact.
According to WWD, the store's restoration includes timber post-and-beam columns and a tongue-and-groove wood ceiling, paired with an open, loft-like floor plan. The design choices were meant to preserve the building's original bones rather than cover them up, giving the retail space a warehouse feel that nods to its working-factory past.
Menswear Gets Its Own Dedicated Space
The Cobble Hill location carries Madewell's latest menswear and womenswear offerings, with a dedicated men's shop built out with custom fixtures and furnishings. That section's design draws from traditional woodworking techniques and the brand's workwear roots, according to the outlet's reporting.
Garrett Putney, senior vice president of Madewell Stores, said the opening reflects where the brand is headed. “We're excited to bring Madewell to Cobble Hill with a new store that reflects the latest expression of our brand across both men's and women's,” Putney said. He added that the historic building retains its original architectural character and embodies what Madewell loves about New York.
A Block Already Stacked With Retail Names
The new shop sits on a retail block that WWD describes as already home to Warby Parker, Aesop, Eileen Fisher, Clare V. and Talea Beer, placing Madewell among an established cluster of brands in the neighborhood. This marks Madewell's second Brooklyn store, following its presence elsewhere in the borough.
To mark the opening, Madewell offered an exclusive Cobble Hill denim tote, along with New York-inspired patches customized by Eva Joan and live illustrated portraits by artist Georgia Carey. The celebration activations are scheduled for Saturday, November 7, and Sunday, November 8.
Part of a Slower, Selective Expansion
The Cobble Hill opening comes as Madewell has otherwise kept a modest pace of growth. Retail Dive reported that the brand, with about 150 stores, hasn't expanded much of late. Earlier this year the retailer announced plans for three other new stores in Sag Harbor, New York, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Bend, Oregon, opening in May and June.
Retail Dive reported that the Sag Harbor store was planned as Madewell's first location there and its fourth on Long Island, while the Greenwich and Bend locations were planned as dual-concept stores selling both men's and women's clothing. Those plans give some sense of how the brand has approached new markets this year, even as its overall store count has held relatively steady.
A Neighborhood With Its Own Factory-to-Storefront Pattern
A Neighborhood With Its Own Factory-to-Storefront Pattern Cobble Hill's adaptive reuse of old industrial buildings for retail isn't unique to the Madewell site. Nearby in Boerum Hill, the Invisible Dog Art Center occupied a three-story factory built in 1863 that had also served as a belt factory among other industrial uses, according to the Invisible Dog Art Center. That organization said its original location closed permanently in the spring of 2025 after the landlord decided to convert the space into a retail store. The building's history spans industrial use, arts use and a planned conversion to retail.
