MEMPHIS, Tenn. — "Unique treasures for those who seek," is the tagline for the new gift shop that just opened on Cooper Street.
Robbie Johnson Weinberg and her daughter Fannie Weinberg, are the owners of Paradox at PeCo. The official opening date was Saturday, October 15th.
"We believe that this Midtown corner deserved a fun gift, art, and home store, to activate the streetscape. So, we brought in artists from all over the world, and some local, anything from a dish towel to salt and pepper shakers to linens.
"We've got beautiful eclectic jewelry, from Boston to New Orleans to Guatemala and everything in between. We've got full dishware sets, some from the Ukraine, some from a local potter. So a lot of diversity there. We've got some of the best Day of the Dead stickers I've ever seen, and other fun, small pick-up items, and some great little vintage toys. We have a little bit of everything, including a great selection of Tarot Cards," said Robbie.
Robbie and her husband own Eclectic Eye, which is right next door to Paradox at PeCo. Eclectic Eye opened in 2002, and since then has been a primary go-to for some for optometry needs and luxury eyewear.
Once the Weinbergs get their systems in place for Paradox at PeCo, they anticipate hosting a number of events, such as tarot readings, seances, and witches markets. "Those are things that are already on the table, but we just have to sort of birth this little business and get it working. We have a beautiful facility here where we can host larger events, and we intend to do that, and really establish PeCo as a sense of place," said Robbie.
Until they can hire a regular staff, the gift shop's hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and they hope to be open Sundays through the holidays.
Robbie says the response from the community has been amazing. "I get teary-eyed kind of thinking about it because people are so grateful that we put a store here. This stretch of Cooper has amazing restaurants but not really much retail."
PeCo which stands for Peabody and Cooper, was decided upon by the Weinbergs, because it sits right in the center of both streets. "People are just so grateful and thankful when they walk in the doors, that we've activated that streetscape and it's fun to look at. Little kids point at the windows. It's been a little overwhelmingly positive."
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