STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Chamber’s Mary Austin Crofts has been touting Hailey’s hometown shopping.
And, it would seem, others agree that it’s something worth checking out.
Cheapism.com has named Hailey one of the Main Streets worth shopping across America.
“With big-box stores, megamalls and online sellers dominating the retail landscape, the pleasure of shopping at mom-and-pop stores in a quaint, small-town Main Street shopping district is getting harder to find. But every state has a few homespun settings left,” said the story on blog.cheapism.com
“Hailey is a quintessentially scenic Western town of about 8,000 and among the state’s most historically significant,” the blog said. “The center of town is crowded with landmarks, along with restaurants, shops and boutiques. At the Hailey Holiday Market, a two-day event, local artists and artisans sell crafts, food and gifts.”
Other Main Streets getting a shopper’s thumbs up were Bisbee, Ariz., with its galleries, shops, nightlife and entertainment. Also, Eureka Springs, Ark., which has 50 shops and galleries with a meteorite store, kite shop and geocache games among the mix in what the town bills as “a real downtown.”
Solvang, Calif., the Danish village of Santa Barbara County, is filled with boutique shops, traditional Danish bakeries and 20-plus wine-tasting rooms. And its Solvang Julefest is one of the most unique Christmas festivals in the country, cheapism.com noted.
St. Augustine, Fla., offers its antiques district near its stone fortress Castillo de San Marcos. Virginia City, Nev., is a former silver mining camp that looks like it was created by Western movie set designers.
Asheville, N.C., sports beer gardens, pubs, art galleries and spas against an Appalachian backdrop. Baker City, Ore., has shops sprinkled around the Geiser Grand Hotel built in 1889. Bethlehem, Pa., aka “Christmas City,” has a Moravian Book Shop which, having opened in 1745, is the oldest bookstore in the country.
Of course, Deadwood, S.D., with its Old-West themed shopping got a nod, as did Winthrop, Wash. And Brigham City was named Utah’s best Main Street with a collection of shops and eateries around a pillared courthouse with a clocktower dome, the century old Capitol Theater and a Mormon Tabernacle that offers a free Christmas spectacular.