"STORE CLOSED DUE TO FLOOD"

So read the handwritten sign in the doorway at Vineyard Vines on Greenwich Avenue this afternoon. Not long after, however, it was replaced by a pair of dark red legal notices proclaiming the premises to be dangerous and unsafe. No whale hats for Whaleheads today.

As the staff milled around outside the store while the fire department investigated the cause of the leak that had dirty brown water dripping from overhead both inside and outside the store, your scribe heard one of them ask another, "Do you think we should call Shep and Ian?" Gee...ya think?

And in fact, Shep did show up later in the proceedings. Reportedly, the quick-acting staff had managed to move most of the merchandise out of harm's way, so your scribe's hopes of buying a slightly waterlogged bathing suit at a deep discount were rudely dashed.

Tom Torelli, who manages the rental properties in the building, was also milling about, perhaps wondering how this might affect relations with the tenants. Probably put something of a damper on them, your scribe suspects.

Eventually, the fire trucks went away, and things quieted down. But for the moment, at least, we have yet another closed storefront on Greenwich Avenue.