Category Archives: Unique Shopping (stores with some personality)

Dorky’s Arcade Pinball Food Drinks

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Dorky’s is one of the newer businesses in downtown Tacoma. It is a multilevel arcade that as of tomorrow will offer food and in the future will have a liquor license. For a couple of dollars, you can have a lot of entertainment with machines like Ms. PacMan, Frogger and Asteroids.

I love the PacMan on the wall that they made out of keys!

Their Facebook page says “Dedicated to Old School Video Games and Pinball Machines we are working to have a place to play all the fun machines from our youth that you can’t find any where. 80’s and 90’s Classics All Video Arcade Games and Vintage Pinball Machines are 25 cents Newer Pinball machines are 50 Cents.”

754 Pacific Ave
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 627-4156

 
  

Lincoln Pharmacy

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The Lincoln Pharmacy building was constructed in 1939 and from what I can glean the building was originally a grocery store, Totem and then Safeway. In 1953 Failor’s Pharmacy opened in the building and now, of course, it is Lincoln Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy with specialty compounding.

821 South 38th Street
Tacoma, WA 98418-5089
(253) 473-1155

Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art

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Ever since one of my Flickr friends posted a photo of a lovely pair of earring that he purchased at Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art in downtown Olympia, I’ve been wanting to try it out. The place has two components, the store and the restaurant but there is an easy flow between the two. We ordered our delicious and filling paninis at the counter and the staff brought them out to us. Afterward we shopped a bit and I purchased a green hat that I love and some dead sea salt soap. What struck me about both the store and the cafe parts is how happy every one seemed to be, both the employees and the customers. I’m sure we’ll be back 🙂

Their website is here
http://www.traditionsfairtrade.com/pages/tradhome.html

An explanation of the concept of Fair Trade is here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade

Unraveled Yarn and Artful Gifts

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When three friends (thanks Connie, Ann and Judy!) suggested that I check out Unraveled Yarns, I put it on my to visit list. I felt right at home in this little store which has a thoughtful selection of yarns and knitting supplies, as well as artful gifts. The women working there were helpful and the place just made me want to pull out some knitting needles and sit down for a visit! And, yes, I got a holiday present for my friend Susan. It’s a ….. oh wait, she might read this!

2154 S. 314th Street
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 941-2268

http://www.unraveledshop.com/

Sadly they closed in April 2012.

What? Shoppe

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

I had thought the new place of the day’s name was Juxtapoz because of the large sign over the door, but it turns out that the store is called What? Shoppe and Juxtapoz is an online magazine. The store is crowded with an interesting assortment of unusual merchandise demanding some serious browsing time. I noticed t-shirts, figurines, wigs, cards, posters, model train stuff and much more. This is a great place to find a present for a hard to please young adult.

740 Broadway in Tacoma

http://whatshoppe.com/

New Place of the Day, 8/22 – 8/27 (recap)

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http://foursquare.com/

As of 8/22/10 I’ve checked in 267 times.  I’ve travelled in five states (WA, TX, CA, MT, ID) and two provinces (NB & AB).  Today’s new place (which I have been to before, but it’s my first checkin) was ever wonderful Anthony’s at Point Defiance Park for our wedding anniversary dinner with dear daughter.

Update: And here is a new photo of Anthony’s


Today, 8/23/10, My husband needed a tire put on his boat, ummmm I mean car. He replaced three of the tires himself, but the 4th one was really stuck! Since I didn’t work today, I said I’d take it. So off I went to Courtesy Auto Service and Tire of Tacoma near the Tacoma Mall. I always just thought it was called Goodyear, but I guess not. The customer service was polite and the work was done quickly. They charged $15, which seemed alright to me, but my husband thought it should have been less.

A favorite restaurant for my daughter and I has been Panera’s Bread http://www.panerabread.com/.  We go there when we want something special, but not too expensive.  I flutter all over the menu, but my daughter almost always gets the broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl.  Then, more often than not, we wander over to Barnes & Noble to check out the new books.  So, Panera’s Bread in Lakewood was our new place for 8/24/2010.

While we were out and about, we stopped at Safeway (not for the first time) and I took this picture.  The combination of Shape magazine and Ding Dongs was amusing!

http://www.joeseppis.com/

 

On 8/25 we meant with a financial adviser (great guy!) at Forza and then afterwards walked over to Joeseppis Italian Ristoranti.  We shared the Marsala Chicken and still took 1/2 of it home as leftovers!

Thursday I had a special treat because my friend had a get together at her beach cabin.  We went down a very steep trail to get there.  It was just just perfect, good weather, good friends, good food and a wonderful view!  The the pictures for 8/26 show the beach!  FourSquare let me check in here under “the Beach Cabin”.  I can only assume that I was at the same beach cabin that they were thinking of!  I’m sure that’s right. 😀

On 8/27 we went out to a movie (it was awful) and afterwards we needed a bite to eat.  But it was way too much effort to go to a restaurant and I still needed my new checkin for the day.  So off we went to the recently remodeled Stadium Thriftway.  It’s one of my favorite local grocery stores with a great selection of produce and a great deli/premade section.

http://www.stadiumbusinessdistrict.com/Page.aspx?nid=39

 

Cherie Priest@Garfield Book Company

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Today my dear daughter and I went to an author event at Garfield Books at208 Garfield st, Parkland, WA, 98442. The delightful Cherie Priest was there to talk about her new books, living in Seattle and an extensive variety of other topics. Dear daughter and I had read her Boneshaker and just loved it! The book is in the Steampunk genre and has determined characters in an alternate history version of Seattle. Her website is here http://www.cheriepriest.com/

The bookstore itself has a thoughtful selection of books, as well as a sundry items that college students might need. http://luteworld.plu.edu/

 

Update: Garfield Books closed in the fall of 2016. I hear that the students can purchase books at a new store in the PLU Library.

Yum! Sweets! Johnson’s Candy

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

In doing a little research about today’s new place of the day, I discovered that the company originally opened in 1918 as a small ice cream shop. The family owned business has a wonderful variety of candies including any kind of old fashioned chocolate that you could want. Their customer service is top notch and the place just has a comfortable feel about it. It is very much worth the trip!

The property is located at 924 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma; 253-272-8504.

An article on the business can be found at http://www.thenewstribune.com/2007/02/14/27359/a-candy-company-with-a-big-heart.html

To see how this property looked in 1993, go to http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/buildings/bldg1image.asp?j=1&o=1&n=29877&i=7846#text