Sure, a T-shirt featuring the name of a town or village says “hey, I visited here on vacation.” But a shirt bearing the logo of locally beloved business tells the world “this place is close to my heart.”
Local Knit on Front Street in Greenport opened last summer and has been selling tees featuring North Fork companies like Catapano Dairy Farm and Billys by the Bay ever since.
Owner Pete Moore said he wanted to find shirts that evoked the nostalgia of his summers spent in Montauk, but couldn’t find anything that worked.
“There were so many places with great histories and great logos but the apparel is not available online,” said Moore, 29, originally of Huntington.
He began selling shirts that featured Montauk mainstays like Gosman’s Gourmet Fish Market and the now-defunct East Deck motel. He soon opened a brick-and-mortar store in Montauk and later expanded to Greenport. He opened the first Nantucket store earlier this month.
“I think people are tired of the typical shirt that says Montauk or Greenport,” he said. “There is much more meaning when it is from an actual place.”
Local Knits works with businesses to design a logo and the companies received a royalty for the shirts sold.
Sizes run from XS to XL and some sweatshirts are available as well.
Shirts are available for purchase online at localknit.com.
Local Knit is located at 15 Front Street in Greenport.
