NORTHAMPTON — Even with three different storefronts on Main Street, Ronny Hazel had outgrown his retail space.
So the man behind Shop Therapy, The Vault and Penny Lane decided to consolidate his businesses into an alternative lifestyle megastore in the city’s downtown, and the perfect location was just a few steps away.
Ten months ago, Shop Therapy announced plans to lease the former Faces storefront at 175 Main St. and fill it with merchandise from the main store at 185 Main St., from The Vault at 135 Main St. and from a warehouse with even more products located in Provincetown on Cape Cod, where Shop Therapy originated in the late 1970s.
It was the culmination of Hazel’s life’s work: over 60 years traveling the world to source and sell the best counterculture products he could find. But he would not see the finished project. He died unexpectedly on May 25, 2025, leaving his sons to oversee his legacy.
Under Keith Hazel’s ownership, Shop Therapy reopened in the prominent former Faces spot on Jan. 15, offering all the psychedelic clothes, housewares and tobacco pipes his father handpicked during his lifetime.
Next to the stairwell inside the store, a large mural honoring Keith Hazel’s late father looks out over the two-floor space, preserving Ronny Hazel’s passion and commitment that earned him the nickname “The Wizard.”
“He loved what he did,” Keith said. “He loved traveling. He loved selling stuff. That was his life’s work. This was going to be, I guess his retirement project.”
Shop Therapy opened in Provincetown in 1978. Thirty-one years later, in 2009, Ronny opened a second location in Northampton. Keith and his brother Adam eventually launched two more stores on Main Street, The Vault and Penny Lane. Now, all three stores have merged under the Shop Therapy umbrella.
With the amount of merchandise from all the stores and the warehouse, Keith had no trouble filling the 22,000 square feet of retail space and maze-like back storage. In fact, he needed more room. He cut two openings in the wall of a former storage room and turned it into the “18 and over zone,” where people can buy adult paraphernalia and tobacco products.
The store features bohemian clothes, jewelry, posters, rugs, stools, spiritual items and much more for young and old shoppers, along with mountains of product hidden from view in storage.
“My father (said if) you’re paying rent for that space, every inch needs to be covered with product,” Keith said. “But it takes time.”
The store will also mix in new items from local artisans among the classic Shop Therapy offerings, Store Manager Ursin Gravez said. The past six weeks have been a whirlwind for Gravez, who was recently hired to run the store after Keith returned to his home in New Mexico. He learned the ropes, managed Christmas sales in the old location, and moved merchandise to the new space all within a quick timeline.
“I just broke it up in the pieces to make it happen,” Gravez said. “We wanted to do right by the space, because it’s such a iconic community space.”
It may be bigger, but the store has maintained its feel. Wafts of incense pervade the store for “alternative lifestyle.” Ornate mobiles dripping with beads, bells and animals line the cage ceiling. In accordance with the psychogenic aesthetic, vibrant murals saturate walls with aliens, flowers, wizards and mushrooms.
Longtime customer Chris Rigali has known the Hazel family for years, and is excited to see their business expand and prosper. For him, the shop is also like a little bit of therapy.
“Sometimes I just come in here just to shop for myself and sooth whatever is going on inside,” Rigali said.
Jill McKenzie, visiting the new storefront for the first time on Tuesday, said she has already fallen in love with the style and atmosphere.
“This embodies Northampton in one store, because it caters to the Northampton crowd,” she said.
