Is the North Fork ready for a tattoo parlor?
According to 29-year-old Miami Beach-native and self- described “tattoo connoisseur”, Henry Avila, the answer is yes, but not just yet.
Avila, a bartender at , first discovered the North Fork when he was asked by one of the restaurant’s owners to join the staff.
“I got to Greenport and saw the potential for a tattoo shop,” Avila said, “so I rented a location and just ran with the idea.”
Don’t expect to get inked at that location, 213 East Front Street, right next to , any time soon, however. Avila doesn’t plan on opening the shop until April. Right now, he’s simply working on generating a buzz, which involves getting more than fifty North Fork residents, who have already signed on, inked before the winter sets in.
“I’m inviting two of my artists up from Miami and we are going to open a private tattoo shop for Maritime Weekend to continue the buzz,” Avila explained. “This way, everyone can walk around all winter sporting one of our tattoos. Who are you gonna trust more than a local who's wearing the artwork?”
Avila’s in-house artist is expected to be veteran tattoo artist Miki Foged of Indian Creek Tattoo in Miami Beach, who did all of Avila’s tattoos. Foged’s shop was built on a similar concept, according to Avila, bringing a tattoo parlor into a place where there was none, but certainly a market.
North Fork Tattoo is just one component of Avila’s business, however, and will be part of X Marks the Spot, which will sell items geared toward men and women interested in motorcycle and tattoo culture.
“There is a huge biker market here that no one has tapped into,” Avila said, pointing to the area’s popularity among motorcycle enthusiasts. “X Marks the Spot is going to be a biker and tattoo-oriented clothing store for men and women with North Fork Tattoo in the back.”
Avila points out a cultural shift in the village, noting the success of its new downtown skate shop and believes that his store would compliment it, along with the culture shift in the village.
“What I am trying to do is a little cutting edge,” Avila admits, “but it’s going to bring new life to Greenport.”
What do you think? Is Greenport ready for a tattoo shop? Let us know in the comment boxes below.
