How Sneaker News Does It

Notice that our days don’t start as early as most other New Yorkers in the commuting grind. But we’re in media, which means that there is no real predictable down-time if you’re in the business of disseminating the latest info to millions of readers. Some of the staff is usually up until the wee hours of the morning, flipping through our phones; others are up bright and early doing the same. The actual work day can start the moment we find something worth writing about. Typically, we get into the office an hour to noon, on the border of Little Italy and Chinatown; not everyone’s a coffee drinker, but those who are stop by Ground Support on West Broadway for an Americano or cold brew, or Ho Won Bakery Shoppe around the corner of our office for that bare-boned drip variety for a buck.

Ho Wong Coffee House

146 Hester St.(Hester St. and Elizabeth St.)

6AM – 5PM

By 11:00 AM, the entire staff is fired up and ready to go. The editorial team is plugging away, bringing to our readers the latest in sneakers, the industry, or whatever gripping viral content is deemed relevant. The first few hours are always the busiest and believe it or not, it can get really hectic and tense. Other team members are occupied with special projects like Sneaker News Magazine and other features that we proudly build up in-house. In reality, “sneaker blogging” is just the tip of the iceberg. We wish it were that simple.

This doesn’t happen often, but some of the staff will take a break and hit up one of the local shops; the cure of the itch of being exposed to shoes all day, every day is to see what’s new on stores shelves at local spots like Supreme (when the line isn’t wrapping around the block), Opening Ceremony, and a few other select shops in the SoHo shopping district. Occasionally, we’ll dart out of the door and power-walk to NikeLab after their official Twitter announces a surprise release – the most recent being the fourth and final version of HTM’s Kobe 10 Elite. The rush to Mercer St. causes a half hour delay, but we make up for it later on.

Lunch is, of course, a daily routine we all pretty much look forward to the moment we set foot in the office. It’s really the only break we have throughout the day. But unlike other places of work, where the mid-day meal takes place around noon and in a communal lounge of some sort, the Sneaker News team gets to grubbing around 2:30 PM and is always done at our own desks. Some bring a meal from home, others have an money-saving set-up with cold cuts, iceberg lettuce, and a loaf of wheat.

Parisi Bakery

198 Mott St.(Mott and Kenmare )

7:30AM – 4PM

The rest typically frequents some well-known establishments of the Little Italy/Chinatown area like Parisi Bakery, a generations-old spot that produces “The Dennis.” It’s one of the heartiest, coma-inducing, authentically Italian sandwiches in New York City, stacked high with classic paisano fare like chicken cutlet, prosciutto, and fresh mozzarella cheese; it gets a tad oily should you opt for the roasted red pepper.

On the days we want to be a bit frugal, a solid option is Chinatown’s Deluxe Food Market, which offers a smorgasbord of traditional grub and the cliché roasted duck hanging on the front window. The go-to is the basic lunch combo, which includes a ridiculous amount of hot food for under five dollars. Finally, us New Yorkers have to treat ourselves to the official food of the city, and nothing in the area beats a slice of sicilian with pepperoni from Prince St. Pizza, just a few blocks north in Nolita.

The staff gets hit with the late afternoon munchies around 5PM; we get in touch with our inner snack gods with the help of cookies and other goodies from local shops or a freshly popped one-foot-high stack of crack-dusted potato crisps known as Pringles. Hong Kong Supermarket, situated just around the corner of our home base, has been around for years. Inside you’ll find all the household essentials of a Chinese kitchen, but we just make a bee-line to the downstairs level where all the snacks are on display.

On Thursdays or Fridays, we’ll crack open a case of beer and finish out the day downing some Tecate or Budweiser. When we hold off the urge, we hit up local watering holes like Broome St. Bar or Whiskey Tavern for some happy hour deals; those usually last until around 8:00 PM, but we often stay for a few more, or until whatever televised sports game humming in the background comes to an end. When we’re in the mood for a more formal dining experience, Seamore’s is one of the hotter newer establishments.

Seamore’s

390 Broome St.(Broome and Mulberry)

11:30AM – 12AM

As mentioned before, we’re a tight-knit group that shares more than just a love for sneakers; we talk sports, vintage clothing, 1990s wrestling, Griffey Jr. rookie cards, and Seinfeld ad nauseum. We openly discuss the impact of sneaker re-selling to effects of climate-change and everything in between. The Sneaker News staff is indeed eclectic, but we’re all unified by our passion of sneaker culture and our hard-working culture. All in all, it’s just another day in the life of a Sneaker News staff member.