U7, Downtown New Bedford’s New Sneaker Boutique

U7 is no stranger to New Bedford. They've been buying, selling, and trading high-end sneakers at their storefront on Rivet Street for nearly five years, with a specific focus on all things Air Jordan. The store has decided to move its operation to a more chic downtown location.

The store will now be located next door to No Problemo Taqueria. Owner Benny Olmeida is shooting to have the store open for business as soon as this weekend.

"The store is all set, ready to go," he told Fun 107. "We're just waiting on some paperwork from the city."

When asked if the store will still be called Shop U7, Almeida laughed. The truth is, the store never officially had that name.

"We were always U7, but the customers would always call us 'Shop U7,'" he said.

The "U7" stands for the seven original owners--the "Unique 7." Now, however, the store has trimmed down to four owners.

Why did they decide to change their location from Rivet Street to Purchase Street?

"We really felt the change with the new construction was a good match for our store.  Downtown's vibe is really great," he said. "We were a little worried about the timing of the construction, that it would hurt the initial opening, but, in the end, we felt that any short-term pain would be offset by all of the long-term benefits."

Almeida says he is excited to be located next door to No Problemo and Bristol Community College.

"It's a great match for what we do," he said. "The foot traffic will be made up of a bunch of our potential customers. Most of the people that are walking up to peek into the store are surprised. They had never even heard of our sneaker store. I think we are going to do very well here."