One of my favorite pastimes is wandering around in search of quaint shops and cafes. I love the thrill of finding a place to buy great coffee or pretty stationary. During recent explorations of my new West Coast home, I've noticed an interesting trend: the proliferation of shops that pair seemingly disparate goods as their core retail offerings.
I noticed this first while walking around Palo Alto, where I stumbled upon a runner's supply store called Zombie Runner. Instead of limiting the store to running supplies completely, the owners have also installed a top-notch coffee bar (complete with barista!) in the back portion of the shop. The owners are avidly devoted to both the cults of long distance running and high-quality coffee. It's absolutely an odd combination, but it seems to be working well for them.
The second example of this trend I found in San Mateo. I happened upon a store called Clear Optometry, which offers typical optometry services and frames, but it also sells frozen yogurt and, local favorite, Bluebottle Coffee. One of the most interesting facets of this combination is that patients receive free frozen yogurt while they wait for frames. That would definitely get me in the door, but I'm just a complete pushover when it comes to sweets.
Both of these stores opened up in the midst of the recession and are unique concepts. While the items the shops sell are worlds apart, so far they seem to be drawing customers in at a respectable pace. It will be interesting to watch how these businesses evolve as the economic climate continues to improve.
- posted by hillary hempstead
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