Keith asks a good question - just where can you buy some of the basics in the city?
His mentioning CDs reminded me of an article I just read the other day in the Northeaster about the explosion of independent music stores recently in NE Minneapolis. We now have four! Aardvark Records (924 Lowry Ave NE) is described as a neighborhood store with a little bit of everything. They stock new and used CDs, tapes and *gasp* vinyl records! Be still my heart! The Connect (339 13th Ave NE) is advertised as NE's hip-hop headquarters, featuring local artists such as Unknown Prophets. They also sell urban streetwear. It's really kind of pleasantly stunning to contemplate there being a store like this in my sleepy little 'hood. :-) Elite Records (2520 Central Ave NE) focuses on rap, hip-hop and R&B artists. They also sell some DVDs and futons, apparently since the owner's mom runs a nearby furniture store and futons have a good profit margin. Last, but not least is Mambo King (1842 Central Ave NE) which has been around for a few years. As the name suggests, they carry mostly music with a Latin flavor. As for other stuff, I've posted frequently about where I shop for groceries, so I'm not going to bore anyone with more of that talk. I bought my stereo system several years ago at Stereoland on Hennepin Ave. South. It sticks in my mind because I bought it in two stages and when I went back for the second stage, the sales man at the time remembered me, even though it'd probably been six months or more since I'd been in the store. Now that's service! And you can buy stuff like TVs, VCRs or DVD players there, too. I bought my washing machine at the Sears in St. Paul a couple years ago. Same with my mulching lawnmower. Last year, I sprung for a reel mower to get some more exercise and use less gas. Bought that at the Hi-Lake True Value and even got to use a $15 off coupon from my Blue Sky Guide! The shorts I'm wearing as I type this came from the old Dinkytown Hemporium. I have several things from there, mostly sweaters. No, you can't smoke them. I buy greeting cards and stuff like that usually at Avalon either on Grand Ave in St. Paul or in Dinkytown, though I recently checked out Dabble on 29th and Johnson St and that's a pretty cool little gift shop so I'll probably go back there from time to time. Like Jon Gorder said, it's really not that hard. And nearly always, you end up with better quality and sometimes even better prices. Leave the big boxes to the suburbanites and shop at home. Mark Snyder Windom Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
