Byways for Buying in Old Towne Petersburg

BY KATHERINE CALOS - Staff Writer
Published: July 23, 2008

Check our photos
for a walking tour of Old Towne Petersburg.

If you know exactly what you want to buy, because you’ve seen it everywhere and need your own copy, Old Towne Petersburg may not be the shopping experience for you.

If you like to shop with a sense of discovery, Old Towne may be just your place.

Within the historic area on the Appomattox River, shoppers can find antiques, junk, vintage clothing, the Siege Museum and its gift shop, a florist, locally created jewelry, hand-painted pottery from Poland, interior design services for the home, and spa services to make you more relaxed when you get there. 

Everybody’s Different

“We’re not cookie cutter shops. Everybody’s different, but everybody gets along,” said Roxanne Meisner, who balances two different enterprises of her own: Old Towne Catering and Lavender & Lace bridal boutique. “When you’re in a big city, you lose a lot of that.”

Bonnie Kirby, owner of The Pink Scottie women’s boutique, couldn’t be more in agreement. Just as The Pink Scottie’s quality casual wear is different from Lavender & Lace’s special-occasion wear, “we all try to create a unique shopping experience that you can’t get somewhere else,” she said.

“We don’t pretend to cater to the mass market. We keep tabs so there’s no duplication. Even our restaurants are all different: Mexican, Italian, British, Americana.

“I like the atmosphere. We’re a community. You can’t replicate the atmosphere, the nooks and crannies.” 

Opportunity Awaits

It’s similar to Richmond’s Carytown, except not as polished. Boarded-up storefronts remain here and there, waiting for the next entrepreneur to come along.

Gwen Cooper at Second Hand Rose was one of the pioneers. She opened her vintage clothing shop 15 years ago in a little building that already looked old in an 1842 streetscape.

She delights in putting together fashion shows from her findings, which she searches out the way antiques dealers seek furniture. “You go into homes and people have things,” she said.

This year’s show featured fashions from the former Richmond-based Thalhimers’ store. Last year she picked another Richmond retailer, Miller & Rhoads, for a show that included the chain’s Sara Sue hats. 

Hat Passion

“I still sell a lot of hats,” she said, because they’re still popular in African-American churches. “A lot of first ladies (pastors’ wives) come in to get hats. They know it’s unique.”

Beverly Rivers is one of the newest comers.

She opened her Rivers’ Edge shop and design services about two years ago, building on years of writing for Better Homes and Gardens publications. She still works for the Iowa-based company from afar, with occasional trips to the home office.

Her husband, Jeff Abugel, is also a writer who can work from anywhere. So, when their son settled in Northern Virginia and had children, “it was a real pull to get to this part of the country,” she said. “We discovered Petersburg when we were looking for historic property. The joke is that we came up the coast until we could afford something.” 

Rage of Prices

Affordability remains one of the charms.

If you want high-end antiques, you can find them at Pennington’s Alley among the Oriental rugs and Chippendale chairs. On a modest budget, you could get a $15 Venetian glass leaflet to wear as a necklace on a cord-cut-to-size or a $15 Petersburg bell made by the German glassblowers at Inge. Treasures also include Inge boxed ornament sets.

At Rivers’ Edge, a framed print of a bird and egg is only $8.95, and Petersburg paperweights are $14.50. Or, you could splurge on an oak desk used by Senator Sam Ervin, for $4,500.

“If you have $15 for a gift, you can go to a big box store,” Rivers said.

“If you come here, we’ve hand-picked everything. You can walk out and feel proud of it.”

IF YOU GO

Getting there: Petersburg is about 25 miles south of Richmond. Take I-95 to Exit 52 for Washington Street. Turn right on Sycamore Street to get to Old Towne. You can park free in a lot at Sycamore and Bollingbrook streets.

Where to eat: Try Java Mio for sandwiches and salads, Brickhouse Run for an English pub feel, Andrade’s for South American influences, the Dixie Diner for home cooking, M&M Ice Cream Parlor for dessert.

Friday for the Arts: The area comes alive on second Fridays from 6 to 10 p.m. when galleries open new exhibitions, music plays in restaurants and other spaces, and shops stay open late. Get details at (804) 733-2402.