Last fall, rumors about Pete Davidson’s new love affair began to spread. Blurry photos have fueled myths. Anonymous sources and anonymous friends provided important information to gossip columnists. But until one night in mid-November last year, Pete Davidson rise from Los Angeles celebrity obsession Giorgio Baldi holds Kim Kardashian’s hand making the news go public. Yes, the rumors are true: Pete Davidson loves merchandise from Uncle Paulie’s sandwich shop in LA.
Uncle Paulie’s co-founder Paul James told me, “It was like the biggest photograph in the world that day. Viewers immediately identified a machete on Davidson’s neck, and in the days that followed, news reports focused on every detail in the photo. Meanwhile, Davidson’s mud-colored hat with “Uncle Paulie” in cursive handwriting pulled James into a whirlpool. “We get rumors and people send us direct messages like ‘Tell us more! “” I said. James was in the dark as much about the photo as the others but the photo sent something bigger into motion. With Pete Davidson’s help, Uncle Paulie’s has gone from strapless t-shirts in the friendly side of the store to being a best-selling streetwear brand.
James opened Uncle Paulie’s on LA’s Beverly Avenue in 2017, hoping to recreate the sandwich shops he frequented while growing up in Queens, New York. In LA, he says, your coffee order doesn’t even come with eye contact. He missed the experience of walking “into a fast food joint and the person behind the counter knows your name and they know your order and ask how your wife and kids are doing,” James said.
Pete Davidson Madison Square Garden, January 12, 2022.beautiful pictures
Delivering cold cuts and bread was always Uncle Paulie’s top goal, but he also always planned to sell merchandise. James wanted a design that reminded him of shirts, with contact information that local plumbers and trailer drivers would wear in his neighborhood when he grew up. He entrusted his co-founder, chic streetwear and sneaker designer Jon Buscemi, with quality control. The couple worked to find a supplier who could produce the tees locally in Los Angeles. “We put a little more love into it than just printing on some random blank squares,” says James.
Since the beginning, James and Buscemi have taken commoditization as a serious business. Over the years, the sandwich shop has partnered with Lacoste and Carhartt WIP. The result is a merchandise store that switches hats and patterned t-shirts with the effect of streetwear discounts. “As soon as we got the hats, they were gone. I have nothing at the moment,” James said. “I am waiting for a shipment to arrive. They fly off the shelf. ” And even before Davidson, the store created an interesting role as a little bit of Italian-American for those abroad. The store regularly ships hats to customers in Japan. James said:
