Shopping On The Ave

By Yayoi Lena Winfrey

Fred Hart of La Tienda holds a ceramic vase by Pennsylvania artist Sara Baker.

On a rainy spring day, I anticipate summer while splashing down University Way in search of a shopping spree. None of the merchants remember exactly when folks began calling it "The Ave," but the name stuck and truly defines the casual ambiance of the street.

My first stop is at the very generic Starbucks at 4555 University Way NE for a vente chai tea latte with soy milk and hazelnut syrup. At $3.82, it's a pricey little pick-me-up, but the rain's cold and the tea gives me a buzz.

At Cellophane Square, 4538 University Way NE, manager Steve Romano tells me their record store has been around for 27 years. He's groovin' to Snoop Doggy Dog's latest rap tune while helping a telephone customer search for a record through their huge database of new and used CD's. "I have yet to be in a store that matches us," he boasts. With computerized inventory, they can track the sales history of any CD at any one of their four stores. For the University District Street Fair, they plan a 50-percent-off sale on selected merchandise.

The University Book Store, located at 4326 University Way NE, is a one-stop shopping mall. Besides selling art supplies downstairs and hundreds of book titles upstairs, they also feature a huge main floor that includes photography and music departments as well as the University of Washington Husky Shop. Just about anything can be purchased here: telescopes, binoculars, film, sheet music, music stands, harmonicas, cosmetics, lamps, picture frames, stuffed animals, watering cans, note cards, paper plates, sunglasses, umbrellas, clothing, souvenirs, puzzles, games and toys. They even sell a book chronicling the store's inception by several UW students in 1900. I can't decide if my favorite item is the $2.50 plastic mini camera clicking off pictures of Seattle or the magnetized Marilyn Monroe paper doll that sells for $20.

If you like walking in comfort, then stroll over to MJ Feet at 4334 University Way NE for new shoes. Against the background of jazz and burning incense, I check out straw hats, enormous handbags, colorful scarves and socks of every variety from wool to tie-dyed to hemp. An official Birkenstock retailer for 25 years, the shop also offers shoe repairs. But its featured merchandise are its leather clogs, sandals and Danskos made of polyurethane in bright, popsicle colors.

The City of Seattle has a University Neighborhood satellite office at 4534 University Way NE where you can hunt for a government job or find out about housing for seniors. There's also an assortment of helpful pamphlets on the shelves including local publications like the famous Seattle Press.

Soon, I'm famished and take a quick lunch break at Himalayan Sherpa Restaurant. Along with guiding expeditions on mountain climbs, owner A.C. Sherpa serves some of the tastiest Nepalese, Tibetan and Bhutanese meals this side of Asia at 4214 University Way NE. Today, I sample the vegetarian buffet including spinach pasta--soft pillows of spinach-stuffed dough topped with a spicy, shredded carrot sauce; palau rice thickened with plump raisins, nuts and cloves and chewy naan, a garlicky flat bread sprinkled with parsley. Himalayan Blue Lager beer from India washes down the peppery flavors nicely.

La Tienda Folk Art Gallery at 4138 University Way NE is eye candy for the ethnically diverse. Besides hand blown glass and fine jewelry, this store which opened in 1962 features mini Zen gardens complete with sand, rocks and a rake, wind chimes, ebony wood carvings, a $400 hand beaded sarong, Mexican bingo games, mobiles, baskets, shawls, elaborate tapestries depicting Mexican villages and CDs of world music. Upstairs, I find ancient African masks and, behind a huge glass case, dozens of colorful Indonesian puppets.

Off The Wall is your standard "head shop" featuring smoking paraphernalia and wigs of every color--even neon lime green. Located at 4514 University Way NE, it also has some of the most interesting pornographic candles and lighters I've ever seen.

None of the employees at Tower Records recall when they first moved to 4321 University Way NE, but it might've been 1979. CD's by Billy Joel, Ben Harper and the Buena Vista Social Club are on sale for $13.99. Besides magazines, the obligatory t-shirts and CD accessories, there's also a shelf of paperbacks--mostly about dead rock stars. An Austin Powers Doll for $17.99 highlights the toy section. With several listening stations posted around the store, there's never a wait to hear before you buy.

Walking through the doors of The Soapbox, I am greeted by some of the most fragrant aromas this side of heaven. Eagerly, Patrina Yuenger shows me a chart that shoppers can use to buy a certain scent in bulk and then match to soaps, body oils and lotions all for under $10.00. Besides greeting cards, the store at 4340 University Way NE sells hairbrushes, bath sponges, shower curtains, rubber ducks, massage implements, Hindu imaged lunch boxes and a book on the Kama Sutra.

If I could, I'd furnish my entire home with Pier 1 Imports stock. Their director's chair ($30 frame; $10 canvas cover) is tres apropos for yelling "cut" at any distasteful domestic scene. Besides rattan furniture and plastic dishes that look like real glass, this retailer at 4345 University Way NE also carries some beautiful miniature fountains. Scented candles that read more like ice cream flavors (ginger peach, mango tea) give off a delightful fragrance while I look at hand carved wooden fish; a steal at $2.50 each. As I play with a psychedelic paperweight, a clerk shows me a pole housing a candleholder for lighting up gardens in the summer.

"What summer?" I ask myself heading back out to the soggy sidewalks of The Ave.

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