Not sure where and how to shop local this year?
Not sure where and how to shop local this year? Well one of the largest online review sites just made it a little easier for you – with the help of local reviewers, Yelp compiled a great list of local shops for presents for everyone on your list, most of which are in Carytown (conveniently enough.)
So grab your fam and your wallet and head out to one of the places below and pick up something nice for the holidays!
The biggest surprise you’ll see is the number of reviewers from outside the city – folks from Philly to San Diego taking time out of their trips (or maybe on the ride home) to write some nice words about some of our local shops.
Have a look at some snippets from reviews below, with more details on each store in the images, or linked from their names.
Have funny and happy holidays, RVA.
Review by Sonia P.
There are lots of vendors for you to find fresh produce, meats, eggs so be sure to bring a few durable bags as you stroll through the stands. And bring CASH. I bought gorgeous sunflowers for $8 that lasted almost 2 weeks in a vase; they made me happy every time saw them! It doesn’t seem like they have a ton of vendors selling arts/crafts so that might be a disappointment to some (not for me, I’m all about the fresh produce/artisan food items when I’m at markets).
Review via Damian L.:
Given that, there’s really no way to describe what kinds of things are here. There are your common gift type items like greeting cards, handbags, and books, but there are also some very specific things like inflatable unicorn horns for cats (really!), Shakespeare insult bandaids, meat tenderizers in the shape of brass knuckles, obscenely named hand sanitizers, mugs that show a Triceratops Meat Chart, and much much more. There are things for every age and type of person. I think we were probably walking around this store for no less than 30 minutes.
Review by Jenna G:
This is one of the coolest concepts for a store I have ever seen! It is geared towards kids and kids at heart! With lots of fun things for children to play with and fun gadgets for adults to indulge in as well. It’s the perfect place for a gift whether you are searching for kitsch, mexicana, Paul Frank (there is Small Paul too), games, stationary, aceessories, barware, decor…you name it! They’ve got it!
Review by Rachel S.:
What a fabulous find. Just walking down Cary Street and found this amazing bookstore when we saw their Black Lives Matter sign on the door. We went in and I settled for about an hour with a great selection of feminist authors I’ve been meaning to read. They also have the cutest shelf with wrapped up books to choose for a “blind date”, only revealing the type of book and another title you might find similarly wonderful. Cool concept, and I would do it all the time if I lived in the area.
Review by Tommy B.:
The store is much smaller than the record stores in the area, but don’t mistake its size for lack of variety. While I said they do tend to focus mostly on pop and rock, they have a fairly sizable selection of jazz, hip hop, reggae, folk and world records, too. They also get a fair share of novelty, hard to find and limited press records as well.
