Today I was in a part of town I never have before.
I saw a store JUST for badminton.
There used to be a store in my town called “Just Socks” that sold, just socks
If there’s still one around somewhere, should open up a competitor across the street that deals only in cheap counterfeits of the brands they sell and call it Unjust Socks.
I have seen lots of niche stores, but what usually gets me is that they’re in very premium locations. How is that empty Custom Umbrella Emporium still open while the packed coffee shop next door can’t afford their lease?
Tap for spoiler
Money laundering, probably
I had to go to a store that only sells custom made stirrups as my kid needed some for their horse. I was absolutely overwhelmed about how many differences there are about them. Kid was happy.
Mixed tape store. This was like 12 years ago, long after streaming was a thing. A buddy of mine went in and asked if they sold CDs and the guy legit said, “No. Just mixed tapes.” Pretty sure it was a front for something.
Batteries + Bulbs.
They sold nothing but batteries and lightbulbs.
There’s a small town I drive through frequently that, for many years, had a Christmas shop. It was always open, usually empty. It closed down last year.
In Turkey we have shops that only sell pickles!
90’s throwback. Of note - Stacks of Slax and the Bolt Bloke.
Disc Golf Mart in Columbus, Ohio.
Oh that reminds me of a spot in Connecticut I think. It was a headshop down stairs and discgolf shop upstairs. With a sometimes skate shop in a room next to the discgolf stuff.
Probably Pop Mart. A three-story shop filled with nothing but these odd little collectible toys of cartoon characters. It was absolutely mobbed.
Rubber stamp store. Just shelf after shelf of rubber stamps and rubber stamp accessories.
Childhood me gasped. We loved stamps!!
The royal we?
Me and my twin. I just use we a lot cause of that.
Cycling clothing. No bikes, no helmets, just more lycra than a gimp convention.
It’s not super specific, and makes sense for where I saw it, but I’ll never forget the Wisconsin tourist trap I drove past as a kid that has a big sign out front advertising “Cameras, Cheese and Guns”.
Screws. A whole shop especially for screws and nuts, and you could buy bigger boxes, or smaller boxes, or only one or two, and they took their time to give advice, always with the same friendliness and helpfulness, whether you left a few cents or some real money.
I wouldn’t go in there often, but I’d be grateful for it when I did.
We have a ‘Mr Gwint’ shop in my city (‘gwint’ means ‘thread’ in Polish, and the word is probably familiar to The Witcher players). They mainly sell various fastenings, but also tools and other related stuff. They have a big note on the door ‘Only wholesale, no retail. Only full packaging.’ But whenever I went there and asked for some screws, they would sell me much less than the full package. Friendly (to the Polish standards, that is) and helpful, unlike the sign on the door. But I wouldn’t dare asking for just one or two basic screws.
Würth?
I came across a very narrow, 5 story store in Japan, a bit off the beaten path in Akihabara, selling exclusively N scale model trains. They had a floor or two dedicated just to the models, another one for scenery, and at least one just for repair parts for your trains. It was really cool to get to see a store that was pretty clearly a passion project for the owner(s) apparently doing well, and filling quite the niche in the hobby (I imagine)
