Bed-Stuy Men's Shop Owner Bullen Has Survived The Test Of Time

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Eric Bullen has witnessed his fair share as a businessman over the past 44 years. Yet, no matter what has come about during that time, including this year's coronavirus pandemic that has forced so many small business owners to either close or contemplate their future, Bullen has carried on.

Bullen, the owner of Al’s Men’s Shop at 1108 Fulton St. in Bed-Stuy, will celebrate his 45th anniversary next year. Bullen purchased the shop in 1976 after the previous owner decided to leave due to the drug epidemic that took over the neighborhood, local officials said. In the years since, Bullen and his shop have become a Bed-Stuy mainstay with customers who have depended on the store’s impeccable fashion sense through the 1980s and 1990s, hip hop boom and everything in between.

On Saturday, Al’s will host a virtual fashion show at 1:30 p.m. as part of the ongoing celebration of local neighborhood businesses that are recognized at Brooklyn's Back Lives Matter mural. The fashion show which will pay homage to Bullen’s time running the shop as well as the heritage the men’s store has established in the nearly 60 years it has been operating in the neighborhood.

Bullen insists there is no secret to his longevity in the neighborhood and acknowledges there were plenty of chances to leave. Yet, despite the break-ins, gentrification and and other “negatives” that could have led him to pack up over the years, Bullen points to the positives — including the collection of both loyal customers and first-time visitors — that have encouraged him to stay put.

“(There is) the regular customer who needs that cap for the backyard barbecue the next day, the clergyman who needed that fedora to match his suit for church on Sunday or that new customer that never owned a hat and chose this store to purchase one,” Bullen told Patch on Friday. “They are just a few reasons of the reasons that make me come to work every day loving what I do.”

The hat shop was one Bullen’s first means of income after he moved to New York after he moved to Brooklyn from his native Grenada and came to New York after he served where on the defense force in Trinidad. The business endeavor became a popular spot soon after he purchased it and Bullen has managed to keep up with various headwear fashion trends over the years.

From the hats worn by celebrity musicians like LL Cool J and Run DMC to those that businessmen and others have worn as styles in hats have changed, Al's has remained at the forefront of delivering everything Bullen's customers could ask for.

Among those have survived the tests of time include the Kangol 504’s, Bermuda casuals and the Selentino Beavers that have been passed on from generation to generation. While certain styles have remained popular over time, Bullen said younger customers often come into his shop needing a timeless classic that will be worn to special events honoring the past. Providing customers, regardless of age, with hats that will complete the look regardless of the occasion brings Bullen joy and is what makes his shop such a staple in the Bed-Stuy community, he said.

“A hat can describe you as a person,” Bullen said. “It shows whether you are casual, sophisticated, or conservative. When a customer walks in, you can basically tell what they are seeking sometimes just by their outfits. Usually once they choose that first hat, you can tell who they are. Yet, you will also get customers that will express their need for a change and seeks your assistance in providing a new look for them in hopes that they are accepting of it.”

Bullen hopes to eventually pass the business onto his daughter, Erica, who he said shares her father’s passion for helping customers and who can provide a different fashion perspective to customers than that of her father. But she does so hoping to to carry on the tradition both Bullen has established while keeping the shop a neighborhood mainstay as new generations of shoppers pass through the doors.

While neighborhood Saturday’s celebration isn’t the reason why Bullen got into business so many years ago, he appreciates the support he has received during his time in Bed-Stuy — a community that has helped him endure everything, both good and bad, that the past 44 years have produced.

“I never thought of giving up despite the many changes within the community over the years,” Bullen said. “I continued to come to work, at times seven days a week, because It gave me great joy providing the people in this community a sense of style. When a customer comes in the store and I am able to give him or her a hat or cap that puts a smile on their face, I have done my job.”