Local shops offer one-of-a-kind gifts

By JALEN WADE and SHARON O’MALLEY

Shoppers looking for one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family this holiday season might be able to find them down the street instead of at the mall or online.

From favorite comic books to funky outfits to fancy popcorn, small businesses in College Park are stocking an array of holiday gift items that could tempt shoppers to spend their holiday money locally.

“They can find one-of-a-kind special products that are hard to find in chain stores,” University of Maryland marketing professor Jie Zhang said. “Those products are made by local merchants, local artists, and they’re often tailored toward the local community and … focus on local food, culture, tradition. There’s a huge benefit of buying locally.”

Research bears that out. The American Independent Business Alliance estimates that for every $100 spent at a major retailer or chain store, approximately $14 finds its way back into the local economy. The same sum spent at an independent local store or restaurant, on the other hand, puts up to $50 back into community cash registers.

“Money gets to stay in the community and strengthens the local economy,” Zhang said. “And a strengthened economy benefits everybody.”

In a proclamation just before Small Business Saturday—the Saturday after Thanksgiving—College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir encouraged residents to keep their holiday dollars in the city.

College Park is home to dozens of small shops that offer an alternative to shopping at the mall or online.

Game Kastle, at 4748 Cherry Hill Road, for example, specializes in board, card and tabletop games, ranging from Dungeons & Dragons to Monopoly.

Store associate Anthony Johnson said so far this holiday season, shoppers are showing an interest in card games like Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering, because the makers of both have recently released sets that make it easier for beginners to get into the games.

“It’s more so people looking into getting into games for the holidays,” Johnson said.  “More so gifting things for people that are into games for the holidays, too.”

Plus, Johnson said, parents have been shopping for trading cards and dice sets to wrap up for their kids this season.

John Staton, an employee at Third Eye Comics, at 4744 Cherry Hill Road, said gift-givers can find games, graphic novels, manga—comics and graphic novels from Japan—and figurines at the store.

He said the store’s No. 1 gift for the holidays for comic book fans are graphic novels that combine what he said is the equivalent of four to six issues of a typical comic into one book.

“It makes a nice, you know, good gift for your friend,” Staton said. “Give them a good bit of freedom.”

For smokers on a shopper’s gift list, The Bamboo Eater, at 9935 Rhode Island Avenue, offers pipes and cigars.

“It’s the holidays, so people like to go for a high-end cigar,” Bryan Haddad, the store’s owner, said. “There’s some really wonderful cigars … some very high-end cigars at, like, $30 apiece, and they’re killer gifts.”

For a traditional gift of clothing—even on a budget—the resale shop Uptown Cheapskate, at 9122 Baltimore Avenue, offers second-hand fashions, but the most popular item this season is sneakers, according to store owner Elizabeth Butler.

And while shoppers are buying gifts, they’re also looking for holiday outfits for themselves and, as the weather cools off, sweaters and other cozy pieces “to keep people warm at reasonable prices,” Butler said.

Food and flowers are appropriate gifts for co-workers and out-of-town friends, some retailers said.

Capitol Kettle Corn, scheduled to open in the Hollywood Shopping Center on Dec. 19, sells what manager and founder JC Clark called “comfort confectionaries,” like mini-doughnuts, snacks, lemonade, and, of course, kettle corn.

“Most people are buying gift sets,” Clark said. “That’s what they’re looking for, something quick and easy they can either [give as gifts] or have at home.”

At Wood’s Flowers and Gifts, at 9223 Baltimore Avenue, poinsettias are, as expected, a popular purchase at this time of year.

Store manager Sage Williams said the florist also is selling a lot of Christmas-themed arrangements with greenery, pine cones and holly berries.

“They have a really nice fragrance that people like to include into their home, to have that kind of Christmas spirit along with the flowers,” Williams said.

Other local shops sell holiday favorites as well. Proteus Bicycles, at 9827 Rhode Island Avenue, offers bikes, e-bikes and apparel, for example, and Smile Herb Shop, at 4908 Berwyn Road, specializes in herbs, teas and supplements for stuffing holiday stockings.

Shop Made in Maryland, on the street level of city hall at 7401 Baltimore Avenue, has a collection of hand-made jewelry, clothing, décor and cards created by Maryland artists and hobbyists.

“Those products are hard to find on the internet,” Zhang said.

Zhang advised shoppers to resist the temptation to buy mass-produced gifts online simply because they’re on sale.

“Instead of being deal driven, [local merchants] are offering a one-of-a-kind product that incorporates the local culture or history,” she said. “That’s what drives shoppers to buy locally.”

Zhang added: “In addition, you are helping the local economy. You are helping your neighboring citizens who live in the neighborhood.”