One of the shops from the old days is Harbor Gun Shop on Morro Bay Blvd. It is as it says, primarily a gun shop. Hundreds of rifles line the walls, ammunition is stacked up throughout the store, and he even has some military ammunition boxes. In addition to the guns, there are loads of books, mostly on military history or guns. Also, in some cases are some random antique stuff, mostly related to guns, military or ammunition. This is the place to go if you are looking for vintage guns or books on guns.
Down the street from the gun shop is Mikkelson's Antiques, a small shop that features vintage glass, pottery and jewelry. I believe this is the only surviving antique shop from the golden years of Morro Bay antique shops. A wonderful display of art pottery and art glass, with an owner who knows her stuff!! The inventory does not shift too often, but she will add more items as she acquires them. Not really my style, so I probably won't shop here more than once a year, but the owner is so friendly and the inventory so fun to look at I will visit every chance I get.
Brenda Sue's Consignment Shop used to be sort of a combination of thrift store and antique mall. There used to be many booths where you could find antique or collectible items. I was there yesterday and was so disappointed in the current selection. There was literally only one booth that featured the type of items I shop for. Most of the booths had only new items, lots of vintage clothing and new jewelry. Home-made crafts are also featured quite a bit now. I used to visit here often to catch the seasonal items, but no longer.
I have to give you a warning about Antiques et cetera, on Main at Quintana. This building has been here forever, and I recall a past incarnation where they actually had real antiques here. Not so now, at least I couldn't find any when I browsed yesterday. What I did find was lots of new and imported furniture. And, unfortunately, some bad reproductions of Roseville pottery. I say unfortunately because they were not labelled as reproductions. At least they were not priced as the originals. If you want to compare these to the real thing I suggest that you go to Mikkelson's on Morro Bay Blvd. Even if they had some real antiques in here, I wouldn't trust them due to the many reproduction and new pieces offered for sale here. This is a good place if you are looking for decorator pieces at a reasonable price, as long as you don't purchase them thinking they are antiques as the name of the shop implies!! I will not be returning here anytime soon.Here's to hoping that some of the empty storefronts will become antique shops in the near future!!
UPDATE: Well, since I originally posted, five more shops have opened up.
Treasures opened up in the building that used to be the Cotton Ball on Morro Bay Blvd. It is a mall style shop and I stopped in when it first opened up. There were some good spots, and a good selection of books in the back corner. The next time I went in things had changed quite a bit. Many of the spots were full of new items, including a lot of large furniture pieces. I was there the day before yesterday and found hardly anything that was of interest. Most of the items in there are new, and there were a lot of furniture booths. This is too bad, because it is a great space and could have been a great shop. I have been in there when it is crowded and there is only one person behind the counter. I have to wonder about all the furniture, too. It is almost like someone is using the shop as a place to store the pieces when they are not being used. I will probably return here but so far nothing has jumped off the shelf for me.
A couple of doors up from the Bay Theatre is another new shop called Jule's. It is also a mall style shop, with quite an eclectic selection including antiques, collectibles, and some ethnic imported items. I have been here twice and have not found anything of interest. Again, I will probably return just in case some piece catches my eye in the future.
Today I found Hwy 41 Antiques out on highway 41 next to Miner's. They have a great location, with the crowds coming and going from Miner's. It is a mall style shop, with an odd assortment of goods. There are a lot of ethnic type items, and natural stone beads. Many of the booths feature newer items. They are just opening up so there are still some empty booths. I will go back to see if any new booths open that are interesting.
Yesterday I discovered a new shop on lower Morro Bay Blvd. called Salvage, it is a darling shop that has a nice selection of true antiques, as well as some items that have been restored for home decorating. I was happy to see that they had some of the vintage pottery I collect, unfortunately I already had all the pieces she had for sale in my pattern. I will return here often to check out the selection of new items.
This new shop, Antiques & Collectables opened up recently on N. Main, next to that cool Art Deco styled building that always seems to be up for rent these days!! Look for the wacky painting of a lady that is displayed on a tall pole. I heard that these two guys moved to town and opened up this shop. I wandered around and was pleased to find a nice selection of true antiques and collectibles. So many of the shops these days feature vintage clothing and jewelry, most have a lot of new items. I drive by this shop and they often have a little yard sale going on along the side of the building. One of these days I won't be in a hurry and I will have to check the sale out!!
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