Another of Chelsea's rather garish sex-toy and porn stores, the Blue Store (206 8th Ave, 212-924-8315) has garnered its share of bad press since it opened nearly a decade ago, first stirring the ire of neighbors who complained about its relentless blue-neon facade and the neighborhood's seeming excess of such establishments. Then in a couple of years later, cops shuttered the place for a bit following a prostitution sting. The store has cleaned up its act over the years, and it remains an excellent source of gay erotica, lube, and such - plus, the staff is generally quite friendly, if a bit indifferent about whatever you might be browsing or purchasing (and after all, isn't that what many people want from staff at a porn shop?).
More recently, the Blue Store drew the ire of New York's finest by presenting a vaguely erotic massage demonstration in its storefront window - Michael Musto of the Village Voice offered the following account of this "event." The massages were performed by employees of the online company Manworks.com, a quite useful website that lists hundreds of gay massage workers around the world (most of them are in the U.S.).
The Blue Store competes with a few other gay erotic shops on nearby blocks, including Unicorn (around the corner, next to Barracuda gay bar), and Rainbow Station, and Blue DVD.
