A ‘Mrs Maisel’ Star Likes to Hang at UWS Hardware Store

Upper West Sider Tony Shalhoub loves hardware supplies.

By Michael McDowell

Tony Shalhoub, who plays Mrs. Maisel’s father in the hit Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, is a longtime Upper West Sider. And like many locals, he likes to spend time at the hardware store. Specifically, Shalhoub reveals in an interview with the New York Post, he spends a lot of time at Basics Plus, the shop at 2315 Broadway, between 83rd and 84th Streets.

“When I’m home, I like to tinker and fix things around the house. There’s a place, up the street from Zabar’s, called Basics Plus. They have things for the kitchen and bath and will sharpen your knives. It’s one-stop shopping, which I love. I last bought some LED light bulbs there. They have everything you need. Then you go there and buy things that you didn’t think you needed,” Shalhoub told the Post.

“It’s true,” said Rafael Villar, who manages Basics Plus. “Just like he said, he walks in and says, ‘Eh, I’m just looking around, don’t mind me’ and then he comes to the counter with lightbulbs, a knife, things he probably doesn’t need. But why not?”

Rafael Villar.

As I strolled the aisles, it was clear that when it comes to home improvement, Basics Plus stocks almost everything under the sun: caulk, doorknobs, a menagerie of nuts and bolts, stove-top espresso makers. But even with such a selection, the well-organized store is impressively tidy.

Some customers ambled and perused, while others had a clear and present purpose: a well-dressed man was after a refrigerator lightbulb; a neighborhood doorman searched for a Christmas present for his wife (a set of knives, ultimately); a bespectacled graduate student needed to copy a key.

At a moment when so many local businesses have shuttered—it’s hard to miss the vacancies, on Broadway, Amsterdam or Columbus—Basics Plus is here to stay. Villar, who has managed the 2315 Broadway location for two years and has been with Basics Plus for twelve years, knows why local businesses matter: customer service, and community.

“Eighty percent of the faces, we see them every day. The neighborhood supports us,” he said.

And Basics Plus supports its customers, he says.

“We go the extra mile. Older folks, whomever, they ask for something: we make it work. For example, we do free delivery. The minimum is $25, but an elderly person, if he or she is spending only $10, I tell them, ‘You know what, I’ll send my guy. He’ll walk with you. He’ll help you up the stairs.”

“That’s how we do business,” Villar added.

At a time when it’s effortless to shop online, it’s the human touch that draws regulars—the human touch, and prompt service. Basics Plus currently operates seven locations in Manhattan. According to a 2008 piece in New York magazine, the story began in 1989, when a then 21-year-old Zvi Cohen and a childhood friend opened a locksmithery on the Upper East Side.

What does Villar like most about the Upper West Side?

“The people. If you treat them well, they can be very sweet.”

Shalhoub also called out Zabar’s and Barney Greengrass, as well as Celeste, the restaurant at 502 Amsterdam Avenue (84th), and Lokale, at 473 Columbus Avenue (83rd), as favorite spots.

“For dinner, we favor a little Italian place called Celeste, which you have to know about to find — Stanley Tucci introduced me to the place — and they don’t take reservations. The appetizer of fried artichokes covered with fried parsley is a revelation. Then there’s the Turkish place, around the corner from us. It’s called Lokale, and we can bring Scoop inside.”

Lastly, he mentioned loving H&H Bagels. But does he mean the old one or the new one?