Denée Benton of ‘The Gilded Age’ Shops in Her Backyard

The actress is a fan of the Black-owned mom-and-pop stores in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

“Oh man,” Denée Benton said, facing a metal shop grate. “Everything really is closed.”

This was on a frosty Tuesday morning in early January and Ms. Benton, a Tony-nominated actress who stars in the HBO drama “The Gilded Age,” had come to Tompkins Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn for some shopping. On the list: candles, crystals, herbs, maybe some vintage clothing too.

Blame Omicron or the cold or the post-holiday hangover, but nearly every shop up and down Tompkins was closed.