Tag: Shopping

Sweet Things Sweet Shop – “The World’s Okayest Candy Store” Where Nostalgic Treats Meet Hand-Dipped Chocolates in an 1860 Historic Building At 242 Market Street in downtown Sainte Geneviève, Sweet Things Sweet Shop occupies a two-room historic building dating to 1860, functioning as candy and toy store since the shop’s original founding in 1985—making it a 40-year Ste. Genevieve institution that’s survived multiple ownership changes, economic recessions, and the rise of online shopping through consistent quality, mother-daughter family operation (since late 2013), and self-deprecating “World’s Okayest Candy Store” branding that undersells genuinely exceptional hand-dipped chocolates, nostalgic penny candies, Jelly Belly selections by weight, novelty treats (bacon and cheese flavored crickets, anyone?), and carefully curated toys and children’s books. Sweet Things represents endangered species—the independent small-town candy shop where glass jars line shelves, chocolates are made on-site using traditional techniques, ice-cold Coca-Colas come in old glass bottles, and the owners (mother and daughter team who live in town) actually know customers by name, recommend favorites, provide directions to historic sites, and hand-deliver chocolate gifts within five miles of the store. Walking into Sweet Things triggers childhood memories for adults while creating new ones for kids discovering candy that tastes exactly as Read more…

Zielinski ‘s – Forty Years of Hand-Picked Treasures from Family Adventures Turned Into Downtown Landmark At 288 Merchant Street, the Zielinski family has spent four decades transforming their treasure-hunting adventures into one of Sainte Geneviève’s most beloved antique shops—the kind of place locals describe as “organized and easy to navigate” despite being packed with dishware, vintage luggage, Christmas décor, Precious Moments figurines, lanterns, lamps, and records, where every item represents a story about where the Zielinskis and their friends found it, why they thought it worth bringing back, and who might fall in love with it next. This isn’t sterile retail where corporate buyers order inventory from catalogs. This is deeply personal curation where forty years of estate sales, auctions, flea markets, antique shows, and chance discoveries have filled the shop with items that caught the Zielinskis’ eye—hand-picked across decades of adventuring through Missouri’s backroads and beyond, hunting for the interesting, the beautiful, the nostalgic, and the uniquely connected to Sainte Geneviève’s history. The books and albums section draws particular praise from reviewers who call it one of their “favorite places to shop for anything eclectic, as well as music (LPs especially),” suggesting the Zielinskis have assembled serious vinyl collection Read more…