Best brick and mortar stores you know

[bolaberlim]

It's the season to be Jolly and all, but I know most of you hate going to brick and mortar stores especially if they're crowded!

However, there's something really special about going to a brick and mortar store and have a conversation with someone who knows what they are talking about. Also some stores are really awesome. I thought having a thread with cool stores in several parts of the world would be cool, people travel, might as well have our own shopping guide right here!

I'll start with a few I know. In Porto- Portugal, the Lello Bookstore. A really old bookstore, specialized in mostly travel, art and photography books, but it does have a bit of everything. It's mostly known by it's quirky architecture and for being the inspiration behind the Harry Potter school of Magic.



In Florence- Italy, Abacus- Firenze. A few years back I found a really cool book binder, they make books, planners and journals by hand. I bought a couple of leather backed planners at the time, they are lovely. You go in and can smell the leather, sign the visit book, talk to the owner, it's pretty cool!



Again and because this is a watch forum, in Porto- Portugal, Relojoaria Mendonça, a brick and mortar watch store, it's been open since 1957 and a family business. It's a really old school establishment in the middle of downtown porto. They offer real watch repair services and can even build parts for old watches or micro brands if needed. I lost a screw for my Orsa watch band and they made a couple for me with the same finish as the original, I now have a spare. They carry: Breitling, Casio, Gucci, IWC, Jaeger Le coutre, Longines, Omega, Oris, Pequignet, Raymond Weil, Swatch, Tag Heuer, Tissot, Hamilton, Seiko, Guess, Camel Active, Cerruti, Elleta, Zenith, Chronoswiss, Calvin Klein, Maurice Lacroix, Gant and Citizen.


Can't find a decent pic though.

A worthy mention to two places, although they are not small family businesses. Harrods and Fortnum and Mason food sections in London-England. The whole store is what you would expect for a large store, but the food sections are AMAZING!

[CanadianStraps]

I find my favourite LCBO to be a somewhat magical place...

[bolaberlim]

I find my favourite LCBO to be a somewhat magical place...

What's a LCBO ? I did a search and came back with Liqour control board of Ontario?

[RayMac]

LCBO is where you have to buy your booze in Ontario. Wine whiskey and some exotic beer. The Beer Store is where you get your generic suds. No alcohol sold in grocery stores.

[RayMac]

Any Canada Computers store like the one in nearby Kanata. They have a great selection, their prices are as good as online stores, and their staff know what they are talking about.

[CanadianStraps]

What's a LCBO ? I did a search and came back with Liqour control board of Ontario?

You got it, and Ray's summary was perfect. It's a double-edged sword though: the LCBO is the world's biggest importer of booze, but thanks to it being a racket of the gummamint, our prices are outrageous. So, I can get my hands on almost anything I want, at a hefty premium.

You learn to live with it. Drinking helps.

[Martin]

In Maastricht, they built a bookstore inside a church, quite nice:


As for the best watchstore, I think it is Steiner, also in Maastricht. They sell beautiful vintage watches in a shop from the 1600's.

[boatme99]

Boy. You've set the bar pretty high.
I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere. We have a closed down shopping mall that was probably built in the 1980s.
I could probably get some pictures of the sales office at the local quarry.

[Statius]

Some very cool shops there. Can't think of a specific shop, but the Stephen's Ave area of Calgary is pretty nice in general.

[Martin]

I think the Galleria in Milan is also quite nice: