Shops with originality bring vintage feel to Coppell, Carrollton
Blooms Candy & Soda Pop Shop sweetens downtown square of Carrollton
Vintage lunch boxes, unique face masks and themed playing cards may not be the first things that come to mind when thinking of a candy shop.
Blooms Candy & Soda Pop Shop, however, is an exception.
Nestled in the Old Square of Downtown Carrollton, the local business is filled with all sorts of candies and sodas from different decades.
Interspersed throughout the sweet treats are vintage knick knacks making Blooms the ideal place to spend an afternoon, sifting through its hidden treasures.
Originally a flower and candy store, the shop came to fruition in 2010 when its owners recognized their preference towards the candy aspect of the store.
“We were having a lot more fun with [candy] than flowers,” co-owner Nicole Meadows said. “We were being pulled in multiple directions because all of us that were partners at that time worked other full time jobs and were maintaining the business in the evenings and on weekends.”
With its diverse selection, locals and newcomers alike are bound to find something they love.
“I love finding weird unique things that will get a reaction out of somebody, either make them laugh or bring back good memories from when they were a kid, really anything that elicits feeling,” Meadows said.
To many, Blooms is more than a place to stop for some candy, it is a place to create memories with loved ones.
“I bring my daughter here every two or three weekends. It’s our little Saturday or Sunday ritual [to] walk down and she fills up her little basket,” said Ron Munoz, who lives in the downtown Carrollton square. “It’s the equivalent of me going to the record store, she gets to go to the candy store and run around and see what’s new.”
The store has given Meadows and her co-workers a sense of joy in cultivating relationships with and seeing growth among their customers.
“[It is] crazy seeing kids… that would ride their bikes up here every weekend, spend 50 cents and get a box of Nerds come back six years later and they’re in high school,” Meadows said. “Realizing that you’re having that kind of an effect on somebody’s growing up just warms your heart.”
Blooms Candy and Soda shop is located at 1106 W Main St. in Carrollton.
Nature’s Gallery shares unique rock, mineral treasures with Downtown Carrollton community
On a warm February afternoon, the streets of downtown Carrollton buzz with activity as children dash to and fro on the fields and adults weave in and out of shops.
Nearby, Nature’s Gallery sits quaintly among an attractive row of small downtown stores, the plain, worn and white building outwardly modest and seemingly to boast of nothing particularly extraordinary within.
However, a step inside the shop would immediately prove otherwise.
Inside, shelves upon shelves of stones line the walls and are situated interspersedly throughout the room. Rocks and gems of every color, size, shape and texture imaginable lie next to one another – some are cut to reveal vivid innards, others already gorgeous on the surface.
These minerals come not only from all across the United States, but internationally as well. Mines in Mexico, China, Brazil and Pakistan have all contributed something to this establishment in the 23 years it has thrived.
“For sure, [this is interesting], especially in downtown Carrollton,” said Carrollton resident Shelby Walston. “You don’t even find this in a lot of cities, but to find it here is definitely unique.”
An avid rock collector since grade school, store owner Donald Slater worked in the oil industry and sold minerals on the side before the consolidation of his business to Houston prompted Slater to open his own shop.
“We decided to come step in here because in [my child’s] geology class, they’ve been studying rocks,” said Walston, father to a nine-year-old son. “I thought this was a great opportunity to come in here and let him look around.”
Slater was not readily available for comment.
Nature’s Gallery is located at 1102 S Elm St, Carrollton, TX 75006.
The Vintage House stands as fun gift shop, historic cornerstone
Driving down Belt Line road in Downtown Carrollton, there is a house almost impossible to miss. Dubbed “the pink house” by customers, The Vintage House has stood out as a creative community shop for almost 30 years.
The owner and founder of the shop, Nan Walvoord, opened the House in 1988 as an antique shop. A stay at home mom and former teacher, Walvoord did not expect business to take off as it did.
“I opened the shop because my youngest child was a senior in high school, and I didn’t want to have that empty nest syndrome that I’d seen a lot of my friends have when they didn’t have kids at home anymore,” Walvoord said. “I opened the store to have something to do. I didn’t know I was going to be so busy as I am here.”
Over the years, The Vintage House became a gift shop, selling everything from Vera Bradley bags to bedazzled pepper spray. Though three floors high and filled with unique items, what stands out most about the house is it’s history.
More than 100 years old, the House is the oldest building in historic Downtown Carrollton. It was Walvoord, however, that gave it the touch it needed to become The Vintage House.
“It was my idea to paint the house pink, so now everybody calls it the pink house,” Walvoord said. “We can’t change the color, because everyone expects it to be pink.”
Although the house makes an impact from the outside, it’s the customers inside that impact Walvoord most, and keep her working daily at the Carrollton cornerstone.
“One of the most fun things is that we’ve seen people come here with their little kids buying beanie babies, and now the little kids are grown up and they come with their little kids,” Walvoord said. “The people are the most fun part. If it weren’t for the fun customers, I wouldn’t still be here.”
The Vintage House is located at 1101 E Belt Line Rd in Carrollton.
The Ivy Cottage greets local with simple charm, hand-picked clothing
Standing between a barber shop and an empty parking lot, the Ivy Cottage in Old Town Coppell stands out with its blue trim and simple sign.
The door of the store is always hanging open and beckoning customers to take a look inside the quaint boutique.
The door of the store is always hanging open and beckoning customers to take a look inside the quaint boutique.
Inside lies unique shelves of different sizes and various colors splashed against light blue walls, displaying jewelry, candles and Vera Bradley handbags. On the back wall stands mannequins displaying trendy clothes.
These items are selected by Cynthia Cheek, owner of the Ivy Cottage, specifically based off of customer tastes.
“She ask the employers what customers ask for what they’re looking around for,” Ivy Cottage employee Jordan Gleason said. “[From there] she has her own sites where she orders from.”
Creek opened the store 20 years ago in a different location. The development of Old Town caused Cheek to move into the small room that sits across the street from Coppell Deli.
“The last place we were at was over on Old Coppell Road,” Gleason said. “It was like a house we were in but we downsized and moved here.”
The idea behind downsizing was to bring a more small town feel that seemed attractive to many of her loyal customers.
“Somebody said something about being a customer in the Ivy Cottage for over 20 years and going to all her different locations because she’s moved,” Gleason said. “I think having another locally owned business helps the local economy and having people that live in the community spending money on these businesses,” Gleason said.
The Ivy Cottage is located at 446 West Bethel Road.
Down to earth dinner: Quincy’s Chicken Shack place to relax, enjoy comfort food
Whether you’re in the barn style restaurant or outdoors on the patio listening to live music, Quincy’s Chicken Shack feels more like a home than a restaurant. The down to earth atmosphere and comfort food is exactly what owner and chef Quincy Hart was going for.
“It’s not your common everyday, walk in, stand in a line chicken restaurant,” Hart said.
Paired with the rustic decor, the Old Town Coppell restaurant, which opened in November, is a family-style sit down serving fried and rotisserie chicken alongside corn, rolls, potatoes and an assortment of other stomach-filling foods. Hart modelled his chicken shack from how he remembers eating at his grandmother’s.
“We bring out your entrees and you pass the basket down and grab whatever piece you want because that’s how my grandma did it,” Hart said. “So that was the concept, that I wanted people to feel like they were at their grandmothers.”
His cooking takes inspiration from his grandmother as well.
“She didn’t have a big rotisserie device back there like we have, she just battered and fried chicken,” Hart said. “Her seasoning was the middle of her hand it wasn’t a measuring spoon. I used to try to dispute her measurements and say ‘grandma that’s not a tablespoon’ she would put what was in the palm of her hand and pour it into a tablespoon and nothing would fall out.”
The environment suits anyone and the food is crafted with the same attention to detail.
“We pour our heart and soul into everything we come up with as far as the recipes,” Hart said. “You wouldn’t want to serve anyone anything you wouldn’t eat yourself.”
The Chicken Shack is located at 505 Houston St. in Coppell.