Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash
40°21′04″N 74°03′55″W / 40.350984°N 74.065215°W
Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash (sometimes shortened to simply The Stash
The store was the setting for the reality television show Comic Book Men, and where many episodes of the podcasts Tell 'Em Steve-Dave! and I Sell Comics have been recorded, as well as select episodes of SModcast and Highlands: A Peephole History.
History
The original Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash began as a small comic book store in
According to Smith, the store attracted not only the typical local customers, but also those from other states, countries and continents. Feeling that such visitors deserved a less mediocre store to travel to, Smith moved the store two years later to a 4,000 square foot location and had his production designer on Chasing Amy and Dogma to help design the store's appearance, and filled it with every prop and artwork possible from Smith's films, such as the Bluntman and Chronic pages from Chasing Amy that had been drawn by Matt Brundage and Mike Allred and the Buddy Christ statue from Dogma. A new logo for the store was designed by comics writer/artist Matt Wagner. Smith had the film crews from Mallrats and Chasing Amy, who spent two weeks renovating the location. The store opened March 6, 1999 with a gala "Stash Bash".[1][3] at 35 Broad Street,[5] A change jar by the cash register has collected money for Operation Kindness, a local animal shelter championed by Smith's mother.[1]
A second Secret Stash in the Westwood area of Los Angeles was opened in September 2004 and was managed by long-time associate
On November 25, 2020, Smith announced on his Twitter account that he was closing the current Red Bank store at 35 Broad Street on December 28, and moving the store down the block to a long-vacant corner location at 65 Broad Street.[10][11] The new location opened on February 22, 2021.
Memorabilia
Various props and memorabilia from Smith's films have decorated the Red Bank store. Among them:
From Clerks
- Silent Bob's wardrobe – The dark jacket and the other articles worn by Smith's character in his first film were the clothes he himself used to wear, but stopped wearing when the character became famous.[1]
From Mallrats
- Silent Bob's hard hat and coat – The hard hat was a bicycle helmet that was customized to look like Batman's cowl. Three extra feet of leather was sewn into the coat in order to achieve a cape-like effect.[1]
- Magic Eye poster – In the film, Ethan Suplee's character tries unsuccessfully to see a sailboat in an autostereogram, though the hidden image in the store's version of the poster is of the film's logo.[1]
- Ash artwork – This illustration, which was featured in the film, was the first time Smith worked with artist/writers Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti, the creators of Ash who drew the piece. Smith comments, "They've got their Ash movie deal with DreamWorks now, but we've got the first Ash appearance in a movie."[1]
From Chasing Amy
- Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and two lesbians – In the film, Banky Edwards, sketches a road intersection featuring these four characters. The artwork was actually created by producer Scott Mosier.[1]
From Dogma
- Cardinal Glick a press conference to announce Glick's "Catholicism WOW!" campaign.[3]
- Cardinal Glick – A newspaper story on "Catholicism WOW!" is seen in the film. According to Smith, "USA Today actually does movie prop mock-ups for you. It's better than just getting permission. They do it themselves."[1]
- Mooby statue – An actual prop used the boardroom scene in the film Dogma. It is splattered with fake blood, due to Loki, having shot to death most of the other characters present in that scene.[1]
From Good Will Hunting
- 1980 Topps Carlton Fisk baseball card – The store's only baseball card was a gift from Miramax, who gave it to actors and producers on the film Good Will Hunting (on which Smith was an executive producer), a reference to the monologue about Fisk in the film.[1]
Appearances in media
The Stash has been a notable location for owner Smith to shoot scenes for some of his
It saw more prominence in
It was seen in the Smith-produced Bryan Johnson-helmed film Vulgar.
The store is the setting of the reality television series Comic Book Men, which aired from 2012 to 2018.[12][13]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m McLauchlin, Jim (June 1999). "Comic 'Clerks'", Wizard #94. pp. 30 - 33
- ^ Brick, Scott (April 1998). "The Wizard Q&A: Kevin Smith", Wizard #80. pp. 82-86
- ^ a b c d Giles, Keith (May 1, 2001). "Kevin Smith Interview". Comic Book Resources.
- ^ Talty, Stephan (December 1998). "The Clerk, the Girl and the Corduroy Hand Job", Playboy, Vol. 45, Iss. 12, pg. 150-152+216-220
- ^ "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash". Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- Smith, Kevin (September 12, 2007). "Some pity-oral, who is and isn't 'Zack', and the shuttering of a comic book emporium". My Boring Ass Life.
- ^ Smith, Kevin (October 16, 2007). "My Boring Ass Life: The Secret Stash West is Dead; Long Live the Secret Stash West?". Silent Bob Speaks. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (January 5, 2009). "Kevin Smith's Los Angeles Comic Book Store to Close". /Film.
- ^ Lin, Jennifer. "Smith relocates his Secret Stash". View Askew Productions. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- ^ "Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash on 35 Broad Street set to close, moving to new location". Red Bank Pulse. November 25, 2020. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Venutolo, Anthony (June 7, 2011). "Kevin Smith reality show may land at AMC". NJ.com.
- Itzkoff, Dave (February 3, 2012). "Cameras Invade a Paradise for Fanboys". The New York Times.