LuLu's Cuts and Toys, a Park Slope mainstay, is closing its doors

The unique shop, which sold toys and gave haircuts, said it's closing in February after a 22-year run, citing the rise of "big-box shopping"

By Brooklyn Magazine Staff

LuLu’s Cuts and Toys, a unique store that has been a Park Slope presence for the past two decades, announced it will be closing its doors.

The store, which offered toys and children’s haircuts, announced on Instagram that it’s with “very heavy hearts” that it’s ceasing operations on February 21. Owner Brigitte Prat blamed the closure on the “continued growth of big-box online shopping” making it “no longer viable to keep our small business thriving with a storefront.”

LuLu’s opened in August 2001 by Prat, who was a former fashion executive. According to its website, she opened the shop because she saw the “need and potential for an establishment which could perform double duty in the family friendly neighborhood.” The shop was named after her daughter Lulu.

Prat said that the shutting of a small and locally owned business should remind shoppers to support them over their big box rivals. Doing business with small stores, such as Prat’s, gets shoppers “personalized customer service, more local jobs, more income circulating within the community (and out of multi-billionaires’ hands), [and] a shopping experience that is better for the environment and a neighborhood that feels like a neighborhood and not a corporate strip mall,” she wrote.

The message concludes: “Thank you all for your support over the years!!!!”

Not surprisingly, reaction to the closure was met with displeasure from neighbors. “This makes me beyond sad. What a tremendous loss for Park Slope. Thank you for always going above and beyond,” one person tweeted. Another added: “Wishing you all the best and very sorry for the community’s loss.”