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| - Here's how a 1-star shopping plaza gets 4 stars.
So it's New Years day last month and we were just finishing up our brunch, bloodies, and a session of watching bowl games at the Grapevine. A small army of us decided on an impromptu day drinking pub crawl in old town. It was 70 degrees and a perfect day to stroll. The only problem was my lady friend (from out of town) left her tennies in the room. She only had pumps and her dogs were already barkin from the long night preceding.
So off to Salties they went. She and I left on a mission to locate some sandals. I thought snatching up a pair of flip flops would be a no-brainer at Sidewalk Surfer. Little did I remember that is was New Years Day. Everyone was closed, even Triangles. After 2 laps around old town, it looked like it was going to be either the pumps, cowboy boots from one of those awful turquoise stores, or she would have to man up and rock the grocery store feet.
None of those options sat well with her (I could've handled the pumps, but I absolutely despise dirty feet). I made one last ditch effort and drove down to Southbridge area. I only saw one door open at a place called the Garage Boutique. On a hunch we stuck our necks in and said hello. Katie, the owner, informed us that she was closed, just doing some admin work or inventory, but offered us to peek around. Took us about 15 seconds to figure out it was another swing and miss! It was a children's boutique.
She saw the dismay on our faces and had to ask "what are you looking for". I gave her the 5-sec version with hopes she could point us in the right direction. To our surprise, she leaned down, grabbed her own pair of sandals and gave them to Lindsey (aforementioned lady friend). No joke, they were even the right size. She said to bring them back when we can. SCORRRE!!
I couldn't believe it. Such a solid find. I offered her money and she wouldn't take it. I even offered to bring her some bagels or a bento box from Kyoto (I think that creeped her out a bit haha). I was 2-3 drinks deep and we were fired up at this point. So we went about our day...yada yada yada. Needless to say we had a great day thanks to a genuine person helping us out. The moral of this long rant is that Katie is the shit! Her boutique is full of cute kids stuff: clothes, all sorts of fresh gear, mother-loving accessories, trinkets, and the like. Not only does this boutique have some great pint-size threads, but its owner is a enormous sweet heart, life saver, and obviously has great taste. If you have children, make sure to drop in. You won't be dissappointed with the service!
p.s. I only mention the 1-star because most of the tenants & shops are gone. If you see any shops in the Mix are open, they are definitely worth a looksie.
Thanks again Katie!
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