Independent Mercantile: Outlandish, Crown Heights, Brooklyn

Just off a single-lane street in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, there stands a centuries-old elm tree. Its leafy canopy shades a small yard behind one of New York City’s few independent outdoor retailers. People gather to plan hiking trips, to watch outdoor films, to come together as a community beneath the old tree.

That weathered elm and its iron-strong roots stand as a metaphor for Outlandish, the outdoor shop out front, founded in 2023. In a city that forever changes, Outlandish was created to be an anchor. A thriving independent shop where people can meet each other, build relationships with the owners, and touch the goods they want to buy rather than click their way through checkout on a faceless website. It’s not easy to make it as an independent shop, but Outlandish has the benefit of selling the outdoors from the unique vantage point of two Black outdoor lovers living in NYC. They’re selling a means to support the neighborhood and