Close To Home | Sweet Pickle Books, Lower East Side, NYC | Episode 4

What happens when the people running the businesses around you become your coworkers, advisors and friends?

Sweet Pickle Books Owner & Operator Leigh Altshuler opened her shop during the pandemic in the Lower East Side neighborhood where she grew up. The idea brings together books, pickles and a piece of neighborhood history: the Lower East Side’s long connection to pickling.

In Episode 4 of Close to Home, Jason Manningham walks Orchard Street with Leigh to talk about how the neighborhood shapes the business. For a small business owner without a traditional office full of peers, the people behind nearby shops can fill that role. Leigh stops at November 19 to see her friend Clark, talks about the draw of Scarr’s Pizza, and explains how relationships with neighboring owners became part of her everyday working life.

Along the way, Leigh shares where she’d put a Sweet Pickle Books billboard and which TV show she’d choose for an ad, then plays a round of Would You Drive For That? with a few New York institutions in the mix. Hit play above to see where she draws the line.

For Leigh, proximity is personal. The stores around her are not just places on the same block; they are sources of advice, friendship, referrals and everyday support. It’s a real-world example of how location can shape the relationships that help a local business grow.

Visit Sweet Pickle Books at 47 Orchard Street and follow along on Instagram at @sweetpicklebooks.

Close to Home is a series about local business, community, and the power of proximity.

Previous: Episode 3: TALEA Beer, West Village, NYC

‍