Black Friday deals get all the attention this time of year — and have become a month-long virtual event — but it’s worth remembering that our local vendors still exist and are dependent on us for their survival. And they alone offer unique items at surprisingly good prices if you take the time to get out in the real world and search for them.
For the nostalgic walk-and-shopper seeking a real-life experience rooted in the Reno locale, here are five great places to enjoy good ol’ brick-and-mortar stores that we know and love as well as truly handcrafted, personal items.
Photo above: Reno Public Market
Meadowood Mall
Reno’s main mall, known as the Meadowood Mall, is a surprisingly nice and convenient walk-and-shop location right in central Reno. The Cheesecake Factory is a favorite restaurant among locals there, and See’s Candy has its traditional location within the mall. Santa likes to make his appearance in this mall at different times in the season, and there’s a large food court in addition to tons of places for kids to play within the mall.
While a trip to the mall may not seem particularly special, with Internet shopping taking up most people’s budgets, it now has an early 2000s vibe to it that is nostalgic and special in its own way.
Midtown & Reno Public Market
Switching gears to more quirky shops, everyone needs to visit the Reno Public Market and the adjacent Midtown shopping areas. The Public Market gives you an enclosed area to visit the new Junkee as well as several local eateries and small art shops specializing in local Reno art.
Photo: Inside Junkee at the Reno Public Market
Venturing outdoors just a few blocks north are tons of local shops dotted along Virginia Street, the heart of Midtown. Here you’ll find jewelers, thrift stores, antique stores, furniture stores and all kinds of decorative art created by local artisans. With Midtown being a central location full of gastro-pubs with mouthwatering delights, you can take the whole family along for a savory day-trip.
Village at Rancharrah
The Village at Rancharrah is Reno’s high-end outdoor restaurant and shopping mall. Planned around people, the village shops face into an interior courtyard that is undisturbed by passing cars. Filled with artificial grassy areas, outdoor games and gas fireplaces and coupled with plenty of coffeeshops, a pour-your-own tap house and several restaurants, this is a great place for those who enjoy shopping to bring the whole family along — and leave them plenty amused as you browse through the shops.
Photo: My family with Santa at Rancharrah
Perenn Baker and Coffeeshop tends to dominate the area and has now expanded to include its own Perenn Gift Shop that has cooking and food items, many of which are imported from Europe and make for great Christmas gifts.
Additional shops include a local butchery with grass-fed and other specialty cuts of meat (Armando and Sons), a storehouse of environmentally friendly home products (Waste Less), a pet shop and a number of health and wellness facilities — a spa, a Pilates studio, a hair salon, a medical spa, a barbershop and more. All of these offer gift cards that are doubtless a great alternative to the endless clutter we all face in our world of material abundance.
Photo: Baked goods at Perenn at Rancharrah will keep you fueled for a day of shopping.
Shayden Summit Mall
For more high-end shopping, the Shayden Summit Mall is another outdoor walkers’ paradise. Much like Rancharrah, there is no shortage of restaurants and coffee shops interspersed with the shopping to keep family members entertained as you navigate throughout the mall.
Some highlights for Christmas shopping include Dillard’s, the Apple Store, Williams Sonoma, Bath & Body Works, Sephora and Athleta, all located in a squeaky-clean mall that is at a very convenient location off Mount Rose Highway.
For those who want the name brands and spotless shops with super convenient parking, this is the place to be!
Reno Town Mall
If you want something much different, sort of a mix of thrift shop, discount store and local crafts store, the Reno Town Mall is the place to go to, particularly the Buy Nevada First Gift Shop & Visitors Center. This is my favorite place to buy Christmas presents, mainly because I’m a bargain hunter (“cheap” according to some) and dislike crowds and pompousness.
The Buy Nevada First Gift Shop is organized into different sections for particular vendors. The vendors run the gamut of gift types — there are old books, trinkets and random thrift store items; baked goods, homemade jams and local honey; hand-crafted pottery, photographs and gift cards of local sights and scenery; woodworking, antiques, local memorabilia; even a vendor that specializes in Scandinavian items — just about everything for everyone. You can spend a day walking through here, and you can also walk through the rest of the mall to enjoy a local shoe store, the library full of games and crafts, and a coffee shop and bakery. Also worth noting that Santa likes to spend a lot of time in this location in December and will be available for free pictures!
Photo: You'll find antiques and gifts at Reno Town Mall
For more shopping adventures in Reno, be sure to see our Reno Shopping section.
Photos by Dan Bablinskas
