Sex-positive boutique Hubba Hubba in Cambridge gets a makeover
Adult store under new ownership, revamped and restocked
A pink cursive sign reading "Hubba Hubba" illuminates a neon glow above the entrance of what's been described as New England's oldest sex-positive alternative store. Once inside, pink intersects with punk.
Opened in 1979 by former owner Susan Phelps, Hubba Hubba, an adult boutique between Harvard Square and Central Square, began as a vintage clothing store that catered to an emerging scene of punks, goths, misfits, and young would-be rebels.
The shop remained in Cambridge throughout the decades, though it changed locations five times before landing in a basement off Massachusetts Avenue.
Rebranded and restocked
The recently rebranded and restocked Hubba Hubba serves “a much more diverse audience” than before the pandemic, said new owner MJ Pullins. The adult store now provides for the local goth scene, LGBTQ community, club dancers and sex workers.
“[The store] was kind of vintage,” said Velvet Girardo, an employee since 2019. It [was] not accessible to dancers or drag queens. They might [have found] one really cool thing, but it [was] more like a treasure hunt.”
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When Phelps passed away in 2017, her family put Hubba Hubba up for sale. Longtime customer Pullins had gone through some life changes that left her with enough money to quit her job. She got the idea to buy Hubba Hubba after talking to the store manager.
“I ran [the store’s] numbers, and I thought ‘that’s not a bad idea,’” she said, of her decision to purchase Hubba Hubba. “I knew we were going into a recession and what are the two businesses that do great in recession: liquor and sex.”
After nine months of negotiations, Pullins bought Hubba Hubba a year before the pandemic hit the United States. When Hubba Hubba reopened in June 2020, there were some noticeable, intentional changes.
“[The pandemic] actually ended up helping us out,” Pullins said. “It allowed us to completely reintroduce ourselves.”
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Hubba Hubba was revamped with new clothing racks, display cases, and shelves. A wall of the storage room was knocked down to increase retail space and air circulation.
As a business serving the queer and alternative communities fell victim to the pandemic, Hubba Hubba absorbed its clientele which required the store to expand from mostly vintage clothing and sex toys to an adult boutique, according to Girardo.
Kat Quach, a 20-year-old college student, likes the shop due to its unique clothing.
“I’m a very self-expressive trans woman of color,” Quach said. “It’s funny because I'll see people who shop at Zara or H&M. I look at the clothes at Hubba Hubba like ‘this is just stuff I’d put in my closet.’”
More than an adult boutique
Though it’s the clothes that drew her in, Hubba Hubba’s open attitude about sex is part of what keeps her coming back.
“If sex was a person and we had each other added on Facebook, we would have each other under ‘it's complicated,” she said. “Being trans and navigating sex especially as a young college girl is very weird, and very difficult. I like that places like Hubba Hubba curate, if not with somebody else, a better way to explore sex on your own.”
Several employees had similar feelings about Hubba Hubba’s culture. New employee Adam Powers, 21, comes from a conservative family in Texas.
“In high school, I couldn't say the word ‘penis’ without blushing,” he said. “But now I have a lot more practical knowledge. I feel a lot more comfortable talking about [sex].”
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The store’s philosophy goes beyond normalizing sex and its subcultures. Pullins wants her customers and employees to grow as people.
“[My employees and I] sit and talk about what they’re interested in doing,” she said. “One of my responsibilities is training them to go out into the world. This isn’t going to be their last job.”
Hubba Hubba’s employees are fiercely loyal to the shop, and they defend it from negative reviews. Many found Hubba Hubba after a period of confusion or loss in their lives.
“We pick people very carefully,” Pullins said. “All of our employees have a little bit of a broken wing.”
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While Hubba Hubba is often referred to as a “sex shop," it’s much more to its loyal customers and employees. Those who work in or otherwise frequent the adult boutique see it as a community where they can explore themselves, feel secure and grow.
“I love the people I work with,” Powers said. “They’re my friends. This [place] is basically my social life.”
Alex Dowd is a journalism student writing as part of a collaboration between the Cambridge Chronicle and Boston University.