By Iris Martinez
Hubba Hubba is closing Nov. 24 after serving Cambridge and Boston for years.
Hubba Hubba, a sex-positive alternative store, has served the Cambridge and Boston community for over 45 years. Unfortunately, the store announced on Instagram that it will close on Nov. 24, referring to “rising costs, miserly landlords, climate change, and an economic environment that just isn’t conducive (or even fair) to small business.”
“We’ve now lost tourists, because not only do we serve Cambridge, we serve all of New England,” Hubba Hubba owner MJ Pullins said. “We’re the only store of our ilk in New England. So the inability to have people come in from, you know, other states, you know, we’ve lost all the foreign tourists.”
Hubba Hubba has evolved with the alternative community and, as the store’s GoFundMe notes in an Oct. 2 update, the store runs the way Pullins and the employees believe the world should run. This involves operating in alignment with values of sustainability, democracy, community and honoring their roots. The 2 Ellery St storefront display mannequins in alternative wear and lyrics from Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” showcasing this alignment.
While Hubba Hubba is closing, fans of the store will remember its legacy, like customer and long-time fan Nicole Bartlett.
“When small businesses close, they cannot be replaced, but their legacies remain. It is like a family member has been lost,” she said.
In the post announcing the closure, Pullins sends off customers with the words of Hubba Hubba founder Suzi Phelps: “Go forth and be fabulous.”
