There’s a funeral home here that has, as their sign, a casket on a pole. The building was originally a Harley Shop, and they had a motorcycle up there; apparently the new tenant figured “why let a perfectly good object-mounting pole go to waste?”
There was, until a few months ago, a discount grocery store – they sold expired and overstock groceries, apparently. Lots of Spanish-labeled stuff, brands nobody’s ever heard of, the leftovers of old package designs from when the local grocery chain’s store brand changed names, and, once, some Price Chopper brand cereal. Price Chopper is a grocery-store chain up in Yankeeland that is unheard of here in Texas. I don’t know how the discount store got that. We almost bought it, because Price Chopper’s where racinchikki used to do her grocery shopping when she lived in New York, and she was feeling kind of homesick… but it wasn’t worth buying a box of mildewed crap just for a familiar grocery store logo. We did get a good price on some short-dated Kodak film, though.
Near Federal Way here in Washington is a place called Billiards and Beads. Must be a Husband/Wife thing.
In the Ballard area of Seattle, there was a Pets-n-Things, a Kitchen-n-Things and a Computer-n-Things all on consecutive blocks. Only Kitchen-n-Things survives.
On Bardstown Road in Louisville, KY is used record & CD/psychedelic poster & T-shirt/smoking paraphinalia AND Messianic-Jewish-anti-Catholic-book store called Electric Ladyland. Wonderful!
Locally, up until about five years ago was the oddest combo shop I’ve ever seen- Grateful Dead T-shirt/poster AND Mormon book shop.
That is site of the Messianic Jewish anti-Christendom teachings of Lew White, owner of Electric Ladyland- now imagine this stuff being sold inside a psychedelic head shop L
In my little town some people recently turned an old bar into a recording studio/beauty salon. Only about 500 people live here and I have yet to see a single customer enter the place.
On the way home last night, I spotted a nameless shop specializing in prom dresses and keys. About two blocks away was a beauty parlor that also did money orders.
I just can’t imagine what transpired in someone’s mind to come up with these combinations. Beauty salon and dresses makes some sense. Money orders and keys is perfectly reasonable. But not dresses and keys.
About a block from my office, this outfit sells computers, cars and bamboo floors.
Across the street from home is a “card room supply” shop. The sign has dice on it, so I’m guessing they carry things like cards, poker chips and relacement bearings for roulette wheels. Just seems like a really focused specialty in an area without any gambling or gaming to speak of.
For interesting names, there’s always ‘Tacoma Screw’. I love driving past that place.
In downtown Bothell, WA, there’s an old house that’s been turned into a second-hand furniture store. At least, it’s full of second-hand furniture, and it has the sign ‘Estate Sale’ or ‘The Yard Sale’ or something. The yard, in fact, is also full of furniture, all of which is presumably for sale despite sitting out in the rain for (in many cases) years. However, you’re only allowed to go in by appointment. I went in once on a whim, and some guy with a serious attitude made me leave, rather menacingly I might add, and demanded to know if I hadn’t seen the sign which said ‘by appointment only’. In point of fact, the sign was covered by some random piece of junk leaning up against the wall, but for gawd’s sake!
I love second-hand and junk stores. But I’ve never gone back. I don’t think that’s a real business anyway. I think it’s a front for something. What, I don’t know. Something.
Chotii, are you talking about the Tacoma Screw that isn’t located in Tacoma but between Ballard and Fremont? If so, I know where it is. (Duh! )
About a mile from there, on Market street is a junk shop similar to the one you mentioned. It has a small front yard that they’ve covered with an arched fabric roof. It’s called the Wizard of A-Z. The last couple of times I’ve been by there, there hasn’t been anything in the yard, so maybe they’ve closed up.
My Dad reminded me of a place called Metal Shorts. Lol. They buy up leftover lots of steel and the like from industrial companies and sell them to other companies. Tacoma Screw also sells bulk lots of screws, etc, to companies.
Apologies for bumping, but would that be… Grateful Threads? Never been in there, but I’ve seen it. That’s the trouble with Bardstown Road, too much traffic for a leisurely stroll.
Elsewhere in Louisville, there is this odd round building that serves as a coffee shop AND an evangelical Christian bookstore. The decor consists of lots and lots of tropical themed kitsch. There is a mysterious second floor which I couldn’t readily see the way into or the purpose of. Since there is never anyone in the place, my mother and I concluded that the upstairs was used for religious meetings. It struck us as rather cultish, somehow.
I believe you are referring to “Higher Ground”. I bought a tie-dyed T-shirt there once. Now that they’re out of business, the potheads all have to go to Waterbeds-N-Stuff for their supplies.
This wouldn’t be in Morrow County, would it? Mt. Gilead/Cardington area? If so, I’ve been in that bookstore. That was 9 years ago, so if it’s the same one, I’m glad to see that it survived against the fundies.
On the other side of the freeway from it was an auto shop, of sorts. The only cars I ever saw there were great looking rebuilt Corvettes, and burned-up Corvette hulks. So the shop specialized in rebuilding burned-up Corvettes. Selling Corvettes in that community was as odd as selling porn, IMHO.
Somewhere in here someone credited Fred’s Fill Dirt & Croissants to The Far Side.
No. It was The Neighborhood. One of my favorite cards & notions, ever. Went on line to see if i could find a digital image & instead found this thread.
I actually joined just to clear this up & will go now.
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