Category Archives: Unique Shopping (stores with some personality)

Dusty Country Store

20137027672_e27b05bbec_kEach time I drive dear daughter to college I drive by the Dusty Country Store and wonder what it is like inside. I don’t think I had ever been in a Quonset Hut before and that alone was reason to stop. I purchased a nice cold bottle of water at a reasonable price and was on my way.

Dusty is a community in unincorporated Whitman County and Wikipedia tells me that it has a population of 11 or 12 and is the home of Wylie Gustafson, leader of the musical group Wylie & The Wild West.

I’m also including two other photos. The first is from a nearby rest stop where a man on a motorcycle was pulling a homemade dog RV. The dog seemed happy. And the second photo is of a barn that I’ve often admired, but never stopped to capture.

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The fence at Dahmen Barn in Uniontown, WA

imageDear daughter was eager to show me the fence around the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown. The artisans barn was closed, but we did walk all around the barn admiring the fine and unique workmanship of the fence. We also admired the two freestanding cow sculptures. The barn was constructed in 1935 and began its conversion to its current use in 2004. The fence was constructed over a 30 year period and includes over 1,000 wheels. It was a lovely mini-adventure. More info can be found here.

We also stopped to see a two story barn on the way home.

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Update 4.2016 We went back to visit the inside of the barn. So much great art and such nice people. 💙

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Chamber’s Bay Whole Foods

16793848633_738f3a9fab_kI was pretty excited when I learned that Whole Foods was opening up a location in University Place (Chambers Bay Whole Foods, 3515 Bridgeport Way West, University Place, WA 98466). We had a Whole Foods near us (kind of) when we lived in Dallas and I’ve always enjoyed shopping there. My day to day shopping is elsewhere, but Whole Foods was a pleasure for a once in a while treat.

I went to Chambers Bay Whole Food’s grand opening with live music and free samples. It was a lively event! But yesterday I went back to see how they are doing now that the opening is over and the US Open has left town.

The good points are.

  • Their employees are helpful, cheerful and knowledgeable.
  • Free samples! Lots of delicious fresh fruit and even a little wine.
  • There is plenty of parking and an entire underground parking lot also.
  • Plenty of ‘to go’ meal options including pizza by the slice, salad bar, hot food bar, juice bar, coffee bar with adjacent bakery, a bar bar (yes, you can have beer or wine with your pizza there in the store!) and other made to order goods.
  • They have a lovely Facebook Page.
  • Their website is also well done.
  • They have a good selection of local produce and other goods. For example there is an upcoming brewer’s night with local beer brewers.
  • All kinds of products that I don’t see elsewhere.
  • I love the octopus on the narrows bridge art over the cheese shop!

The less than good points are:

  • Well, they are expensive. For example the leg cramp medicine my husband uses was 1/3 more expensive than it is on Amazon. Though I found quite a few reasonably priced items and some of the sale items (I love their soaps) were a steal!
  • This location doesn’t carry Tom’s Shoes, which is what brought me there. In fact they have very little in the way of clothes. That’s OK, if I want clothes with my groceries I go to Fred Meyers. Though I really wanted to check the fit on the new Tom’s sneakers.
  • Like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods doesn’t stock most day to day items, so if I want Pepsi or Oreo Cookies, I need to go elsewhere. They do have healthy options to sodas and sweets.
  • I was looking forward to taking a class or two there and they don’t seem to be set up for that. Maybe in the future.

The good outweighs the not so good and I’m delighted that they are here.

 

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Hong Kong Supermarket

imageThe Hong Kong Supermarket at 3828 S Yakima Ave, Tacoma, WA 98418 opened in April 2014, so it has had more than a year to settle into place. It is a large specialty store with a full selection of food items from primarily Southeast Asia. There is a deli and some household items as well. It is good to see a new building/expanded business in the Lincoln District which has quite a few empty storefronts and under utilized buildings. The Hong Kong Supermarket had been located on the corner of South 38th and South Yakima Ave before they constructed their new store in the previous location of Lincoln Bowl.  I purchased a treat for dear daughter, but if I had been more adventurous I would have gone for one of the drinks: Pennywort, Chrysanthemum or Basil Seed. Yep, that’s what I’ll do next time!

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Valentine’s Day Spring Flowers

16531581111_5e514ae2d2_kI was having a Valentine’s Day meal with my Valentine when I glanced out the window towards LEED (Law Enforcement Equipment Distribution) at 6902 Sixth Avenue. It took me a moment to realize what seemed out of place to me. The rhododendrons were in full bloom! That seems crazy to me since we are only in mid-February! So then I started looking around and sure enough there were cherry trees blooming and daffodils coming up and a lovely camellia in full glory. So, I guess the ground hog was wrong for us this year, but for sure right for my friends and family in the northeast.

LEED specialize in duty gear, body armor and firearms for law enforcement and armed security professionals.

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Sugar

15889040037_86c4053a16_kThere is a tiny candy store named Sugar in the Proctor District at 3901 N. 27th St. . With about 72 square feet, the store is full of all kinds of unusual and vintage candy. Sugar, which opened in August 2010, also creates wedding and birthday favors.

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Update 4/2017: Sugar has been out of business for some time. Last I looked there was a lego store there.

An eyeball bowling ball at Bass Pro Shop

15264688214_fa213f4f44_kThe new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World Store at 7905 South Hosmer Street in Tacoma opened for business in October and its pretty great! It is huge (142,000 square feet) and full of camping, hunting and fishing merchandise. And there are some surprises including a restaurant with a full bar, a bowling alley with shark ball returns and bowling balls that look like eyes, a 12,000 gallon aquarium stocked with local fish (plenty of salmon), a boat showroom, stuffed wildlife exhibits, a lovely entry with a large fireplace and a holiday area that will soon house Santa. And outside in the parking lot there is a fire-tower. Apparently there are many Pro Bass Stores in other parts of the country, but this is the first one in Washington or Oregon.

 

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Metsker Maps

IMG_3925I was strolling through SeaTac Airport going to my flight when I stumped upon Metsker Maps at Concourse B . That’s right, I know remember that they opened an airport location. I love maps and thus love this store! The woman working there was so pleasant and knowledgeable and their selection was great.

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Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe

 

IMG_3846 Continuing my back and forth posting, here is the Washington State University’s famous Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe. I felt lucky to be able to go since they are only open Monday through Friday. While there I had a small vanilla and a sample of the delicious Cougar Gold Cheese. I loved being about to sit down and enjoy my ice cream while watching the workers make the cheese. There website is here.

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Rustic Metal Yard Art, Covington

14069781826_a7e4f25cc7_bI was in Covington wondering what I was going to snap a photo of when I found this. Really, it was like a gift. Rustic Metal Yard Art is located on Kent Black Diamond Road SE and is relatively new. It wasn’t there a couple of years ago. The Rooster is the largest piece and stands very tall. But there is a full assortment of other works including a space craft and a peacock. Arbors, Statues,Trellises and Fountains were on display. They were closed when I went by, so all the photos were taken through or over the fence.

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