Best of Orlando 2024: Shopping and Retail
Winner: Orange Tree Antiques Mall, orangetreeantiques.com
2nd: The Owl's Attic, theowlsattic.com
3rd: The Lovely, thelovelyboutiquemarket.com
When a city construction project took over Robinson Street, the Milk District's small businesses wasted no time in banding together to get people through their doors. Etoile Boutique, Bull and Bush, Hair Godz, Minuteman Press, Rugged Perspective, Gringos Locos, Sportstown Billiards, Stay Still Studio and The Nook on Robinson were all impacted, and most of them took to social media to make some noise and drum up community support. And we're happy to report — it worked.
Winner: Orange Cycle, orangecycleorlando.com
2nd: Kyle's Bike Shop, kylesbikeshop.net
3rd: Pedal Driven Co., pedaldrivenco.com
From Sanford to Longwood to Kissimmee to the Florida Mall area, one cute retail trend is an explosion of Lego specialty stores. No longer the sole province of Disney Springs, these brick hubs draw in crowds of enthusiasts of all ages. Whether you're looking for a project to engage your child, the missing piece to complete a build, or a minifigure of a villain from a certain Clive Barker horror franchise ... these spots are more colorful than the dreary internet. And anything that keeps us off our stupid phones and using our hands to create objects and projects and constructs is a net positive.
Take an inactive mall that has definitely seen better days, give it two years of construction, renovation and reimagining ... and voilà, you have the new-model Winter Park Village. The shopping center now looks sleek and sharp after shedding its dated mid-Med style. It boasts plenty of dining and entertainment options, including an outdoor stage for local entertainers, and is regularly packed with eager local folks.
510 Orlando Ave., Winter Park, shopwinterparkvillage.com
If you're looking for a special accoutrement for your sweetie — or yourself — that will withstand adverse conditions, be it mosh pit or a Mad Max-style dystopia, look no further than Chainkiller. Solely the province of Amanda Little, also the frontperson of Orlando punks Vicious Dreams, Chainkiller offers up bespoke chokers, necklaces, earrings, bolos and bracelets that are spiky and industrial and brokenhearted and vulnerable. Little sells her wares through Etsy, at Prometheus Esoterica and at sundry markets around town.
Gatcha is a "clawcade" full of gashapon game machines granting prizes big to small, plush to plastic. Don't be embarrassed if you shout out "gotcha!" as you maneuver your way to the win — victoriously claiming that squishy Gudetama would make anyone yell.
Florida Mall, 8001 S. Orange Blossom Trail, gatcha.us/project/orlando
Strip malls have long been perceived as a blight on Central Florida roadways, and for the most part, it's true. But this strip at the intersection of Curry Ford and Crystal Lake gets it so right that we've daydreamed up a staycation where we start at Daybreak Diner and end up by mailing some postcards at the anything-goes, cash-only post office. What's in between? To name a few: Clemons Produce, Charlie's Bakery and Creamery, Divine Torture Tattoos, Living Dead Comics, Sun Thrift, the Band Room. Shop 'til you drop.
corner of Curry Ford Road and Crystal Lake Drive
Orlando music emporium East West Records, founded by Hannah and Roman Skrobko, was a haven for vinyl (and more) lovers in the local area since 1971, the oldest continually operating record store in our area. They sold up in 2018, and in early August of this year, the store's new owner announced the unthinkable: They would be closing their doors imminently. But East West went out in high style, with a blockbuster weekend-long sale that at times felt more like a family reunion and a party than a wake. Orlando's music scene is undoubtedly a good deal poorer with the void left by this institution's imminent closure.
4895 S. Orange Ave., 407-859-8991, eastwestrecordsusa.com
