I had initially gone to REI to look for a snowboard, boots, and bindings. Interestingly enough, they carry none of these - only clothing. They recommended Powder and Sun.
I'm not into skate culture. Just not. I was worried the visit would be uncomfortable and I'd end up googling reviews of the stuff they had in store to figure out what to buy. Complete opposite.
They were busy, but Tim came out of the back and spent 40 minutes with us. 40 minutes. And it was 40 minutes of honest, kind advice. He was very kind and thoughtful in his recommendations - felt like a close friend was helping us. I believe he is the owner and only stocks items he truly believes in, and he knows just about everything about everything in the whole store.
I feel like I would have been up-sold at other stores, whereas Tim actually recommended we wait on a few items until they were truly necessary. Great business and honest man.