Attractions

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels

Everyone knows that Sarasota, Florida is a mecca for upscale shopping. One-of-a-kind downtown shops, designer stores on St. Armands Circle, and an outlet mall with top labels draw residents and visitors year-round. There is, however, another unique shopping experience available in Sarasota: the city is home to an uncommon number of secondhand stores and antique shops.

Secondhand and antique stores on Fruitville Road. Photo courtesy of Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Perhaps the largest concentration of the thrift and antique stores lies between Central and Orange Avenues along Fruitville Road, which forms the northern boundary of downtown Sarasota. Here customers will discover a row of historic, brightly painted single story buildings with titillating names like The Mustard Seed, American Pie Antiques and Collectibles, and Sparcc’s Treasure Chest. Each is crammed from floor to ceiling with used cookware, dishes, glasses, paintings, books, clothing, shoes, antiques, vintage clothing, accessories, jewelry, tools, toys, and much more.

Antique Mall in downtown Sarasota

Funky chairs sit in front of Jack Vitale Antiques in Burns Square

Another collection of second hand shops is mixed in amongst the sidewalk cafes and art galleries of the Burns Square and Laurel Park neighborhoods on the southern edge of downtown Sarasota. Two well-stocked used bookstores are found on Main Street, in the center of downtown. Further afield are the obligatory Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, and second hand furniture stores are scattered all over town. One recently opened thrift store on Bahia Vista Drive in mid-town specializes in designer clothing that is sold for as little as $2 or $3 per garment.

There is just no end to the bargains that can be found by digging through merchandise heaped on tables and crammed onto old shelves. So if you’re planning on visiting the Gulf coast of Florida, set aside some tme to snoop through the scores of thrift and consignment stores in Sarasota. Who knows – you may even find undiscovered booty.  Because as everyone knows, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure!