Getting your shoes shined can be a tedious experience that not too many people would spend their money and time on - unless the footwear care professionals happen to be scantily clad young women.A controversial new business in Manhattan’s Financial District adopted the classic 'sex sells’ formula, hiring a team of attractive female shoe shiners to serve moneyed Wall Street clientele.Star Shine NYC, located at 40 New Street, is the brain child of Kevin White Jr, 30, who launched the risque venture with his father three weeks ago. Let is shine: Emplpoyees at Star Shine NYC hard at work polishing loafers and wingtips of Wall Street execs Sex still sells: The controversial new business in Manhattan's Financial District hired a team of attractive female shoe shiners decked in skimpy uniforms Unflattering comparison: The enterprise has been compared to the restaurant chain Hooters, where waitresses serve tables dressed in revealing outfits'Finance guys are so busy and stressed, this is a chance to unwind and relax.
It’s definitely an upgraded shoe-shine experience.'Star Shine markets itself as a destination for Wall Street lawyers, traders and bankers looking for the ultimate shoe shining experience provided by a team of five statuesque ladies dressed in tight, low-cut tank tops and matching skimpy shorts. Far from the basic shoe shine stand of yesteryear run by an unkempt street urchin or a balding middle aged man, White's establishment is packed with such upscale features like large leather chairs and flat-screen TVs.Aiming to create a classy atmosphere to satisfy his high-end customers, White hopes to begin serving alcoholic beverages in the next few months. A single shoe shine, which takes about five minutes, costs $7, but customers who come in before 11am can get their footwear buffed for $4. Upscale shoe shine stand: The store is packed with such high-end features as large leather chairs and flat-screen TVs Service and a show: The ladies of Star Shine NYC are also available for parties and corporate events
Although Star Shine NYC stands on an obscure narrow street with light foot traffic, business has been on the rise thanks to the shoe shiners who have been passing out fliers advertising the business on Wall Street. And the polishing and buffing pros are also available for parties and corporate gigs. So far, the ladies of Star Shine NYC have been invited to care for leather wingtips and loafers at several events for financial advisers and brokers.Kaya Santigao, a 19-year-old college student turned-shoe shiner, told DNAInfo that the work is fun, and the customers have been nice and generous with their tips. But not everyone has taken a shine to the idea. Several critics blasted the shoe shining enterprise reminiscent of the restaurant chain Hooters as sexist and anachronistic. Affordable: A shoe shine costs $7 and lasts about five minutes, but customers are offered discounts if they come early in the morning Backlash: Critics lambasted the owners of Star Shine NYC, calling the business concept in which women stand bent before men, cleaning their dirty shoes, sexist and primitive
'It’s like Hooters, but fewer wings, more degrading?' quipped Jordyn Taylor in a piece for New York Observer. , Kelsea Stahler went on the offensive against Star Shine NYC, fuming that even Don Draper, the notorious womanizer character from the popular AMC show Mad Men, would find the business that gives men license to ogle women as they stand bent before them to clean the filth off their shoes distasteful.'These people must be joking. Are we really donning our contemporary booty shorts and roller skating back in time?' 'Why don't we just go back to calling receptionists "Hey, doll, grab me a cuppa coffee" and flight attendants "Sweetheart, this scotch ain't gonna refill itself"?'Rule of thumb for starting a new business: If it would appear tawdry even to the characters on Mad Men, you're doing it wrong.'Electric Shoe Shine Polishers Buffers - Beck Shoe Polisher Electric Shoe Shine Polishers Buffers. The same high quality models seen in luxury hotel rooms and executive offices.
Highest rated in the industry, a real symbol of excellence.What makes these units the best? do not be fooled by similar looking items.>> Compare <<: Similar looking items may have only 0.6 amps. Ours operate on a 1.6 Amp motor. That's almost triple the torch. Cheap simulated leather material Cheap silver leather fabric 50x69cm Soft Pu Napa Vinyl Eco Leather Fabric Arti... Min. Order: 1 piece Printed Cotton Linen Fabric For Quilting DIY Sewin... Printed Cotton Linen Fabric For Quilting,DIY Sewin... Cotton Linen Fabric For Handmade Hometextile Cloth... Printed Owl Cotton Linen Fabric For Handmade Homet... 50x135cm Pvc Synthetic Leather Furniture Fabric, P... 50x68cm DIY Faux Leather Fabric For Furniture Pu A... 100x135cm Embossed Leather Cover Material For Sewi... Min. Order: 1 meter Printed Cotton Linen Fabric Chinese Culture Patchw... 50x68cm Piece Synthetic Eco Leather Fabric For ... Printed Cotton Linen Fabric For Quilting,Sewing,So...
Printed Cotton Linen Fabric For Sewing Quilting,DI... Printed Cotton Linen Fabric Ocean Style Patchwork ... 50x135cm Faux Crocodile Leather Sofa Material, Vin... New Printed Cotton Linen Fabric For Sewing Quiltin... 50x69cm Faux Pu Leather Fabric Eco Leather ... Printed Cotton Linen Fabric For Sewing Quilting DI... Pu Imitation Leatherette Leather Cover Material ... 100x135cm Pu Leatherette Fabric For Wall Sofa Diy ... 100x134cm Snake Skin Leather Fabric For Furniture ... 50x68cm Pu Synthetic Leather Material Leather Upho... Eiffel Tower Print Cotton Linen Fabric For DIY Sew... Decorative Flowers & Wreaths See all 10 CategoriesGREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY! NEW TOPICS & COVERAGE You have read of premium articles. Get unlimited access to all of our breaking news, in-depth coverage and bonus content- exclusively for subscribers. Starting at just 99¢ for 8 weeks This subscriber-only site gives you exclusive access to breaking news, in-depth coverage, exclusive interactives and bonus content.
Longtime Atlanta airport shoeshiner wins contract to keep business Posted: 3:38 p.m. Thursday, December 22, 2016 Longtime Atlanta airport shoeshine operation Master Shine has been selected for a contract to continue buffing shoes at Hartsfield-Jackson International, while a small local shoeshine firm was also selected to launch operations there.Master Shine and Final Touch Shoes were each selected. A larger firm from Las Vegas with national aspirations, Goodfellows Shoeshine, was disqualified from the running due to an issue with documents submitted. It’s the first time in 17 years that the Atlanta airport has contracted out the shoeshine stands. The plan is to more than double the number of shoeshine stands, and to split them between two contractors. The contract decisions are subject to approval by the Atlanta City Council and mayor’s office.Winning the contract to continue the shoeshine business at the airport “will mean a lot,” said Charles Sanders, a shoeshiner and co-owner of Master Shine.
“It will mean my life is saved,” and his fellow shoeshiners “got a place to make some money for their kids and family too.”Sanders, 77, had worried about how to pay for a consultant to prepare the extensive proposal documents to compete for the contract. A Decatur resident, La Detra White, earlier this year launched an online campaign to raise donations to help Master Shine and Charles Sanders prepare proposals.White said it was about “leveling the playing field and giving him an opportunity to do something he’s always done.” She assembled a team including an accountant and an attorney who helped to prepare the proposal for Master Shine and construct a plan to modernize the operation.Getting the contract means Master Shine, which Sanders co-owns with four other shoeshiners, will need to undergo an array of upgrades for the new contract — including adding the ability to accept credit cards, upgraded shoeshine chairs and a “rebranding.”“They wanted everything upgraded,” said Sanders.
Master Shine won a contract for shoeshine stands in the domestic terminal and on Concourses T, A, C and F. He said he expects the Master Shine price for shoeshines — currently $7 for shoes and $8 for boots — may go up $1 or $2 as a result.Final Touch Shoes president Anthony Hines, who won a contract for shoeshine stands in the domestic terminal and Concourses B, D and E, said the deal will allow him to expand his business, which has shoeshine stands in locations elsewhere in Atlanta.Goodfellows CEO Shelley Bonner-Carson, who has built up a shoeshine business from a small operation at Circus Circus casino in Las Vegas into a large operation with locations at multiple airports, said she was informed her proposal was deemed “non-responsive” due to an incomplete E-Verify form, which is required by the state.Bonner-Carson said the company was in compliance but the proposal was submitted before the company was issued a number to enter in the document. The form requires a federal work authorization user identification number and date of authorization.“