Take a walk down Dearborn Street today through Olde Englewood, and sadly about a third of the shops will be closed with signs in the windows that state “See you in October!” Since the season in South Florida runs contrary to most other destinations in the country, the shop owners there head back, we are told, to sister stores in destinations with a more traditional “season” in places like Mackinaw City, Michigan. That is what we heard about the owners of Mermaid Cache, a whimsical looking beach shop with items in the windows including handmade jewelry, colorful dresses, beach wraps, and other finer quality looking gifts and collectibles. The passerby wasn’t a hundred percent sure about the locale of the sister store, but she said if her “memory served” it was Mackinaw City. That is one store, we hope to find open on our next trip to the area.
Luckily, we did find Girlieman Chic’s doors open year round. Girlieman Chic is a women’s consignment store that packs a ton of bargains into a tiny space and is opening in a new larger location down the street October 1. I would highly recommend starting from the back and working your way to the front since I discovered a Chico’s brand dress in the Final Clearance room in the back for only $3 that fit me like a well worn glove and was in like new condition! In addition to clothes they have a very funky collection of shoes and handbags and some rather amusing buttons, cards and trinkets. The owner’s sense of humor shows through in her store, a trait we greatly appreciate!
Additionally, the Life is Good store: At Home with Style is open year-round and is full of all the neat items that make that brand so fun. They also have a variety of upscale home decor items that would make planning for your next cocktail party a blast! Another section of the retail shop includes pampered pet specialty products like bowls, leashes and outfits for your 4-legged companion and carriers for the smallest of the species deigned to resemble couture handbags.
After checking out a few other beachy shops, some open and some not, and making notes of the ones we hope to explore on the inside during our next stop over in sunny, (and HOT!) southwest Florida, we decided to make a stop in a local eatery for a snack and cold libation. It was late afternoon and as they say “five o’clock somewhere!” so we decided a cerveza and some chips and salsa might be a nice snack. We had spotted Compadre’s Mexican restaurant when we first arrived on Dearborn Street and thought the front porch there looked like a beckoning spot to sit and take in the scenery while cooling down with a cold one. The staff was friendly and we enjoyed the authentic chips and salsa along with a couple of Coronas and decided that while Englewood is certainly on the sleepy side, it was a very relaxing stop in our tour around South Florida.
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