Savannah Shops
Walking is probably the best way to get in touch with the cultural identity of
Downtown Historic Savannah. This is also the best plan for shopping in
the area. Most of the streets that intersect Savannah’s 21 squares contain
shops worth exploring. Choose from vintage shops, SCAD supply stores,
antiques, jewelers, galleries, museum gift shops, sweet stops, banks…it’s all
here—the fun and the funk!
Newly renovated, Broughton Street is an excellent strip of old and new
shopping wonders. Check out the very chic 24e for
modern home furnishings. Savannah Magazine lists Bleubelle Boutique,
located at 205 West Broughton Street, as the best boutique and best women’s
store for three years in a row. Visit www.bleubellebridal.com for
appointments.
Savannah's fully restored City
Market gathers a diverse crowd as well. This lively, enchanting
square offers food, music, and outdoor excitement. The café style environment
lends itself well to tourists and families. You might also embark on a carriage
tour from here.
Even more stores await your discovery along River Street, where
a wide range of local art fuses with Georgia memorabilia. You might observe
pirate mugs, sea shell necklaces, and desirable watercolor paintings all in the
same shop. Each first Saturday opens even more art onto the street, so bring
your kids and enjoy a day of it.
For the Southside shopper, The Oglethorpe Mall and The Savannah
Mall contain the usual assortment of brand-name goods you would
expect. There is also a Mall Branch Library at the Oglethorpe Mall location.
(7 Mall Annex, 912-925-2031) Wireless internet is available here also.
Oglethorpe Mall is only five miles south of the River Front; and Savannah Mall
is just a few more miles south. Abercorn Street will take you from the Savannah
River in the Historic District all the way to both Malls (and on another 5
miles to the junction of Interstate I-95). Public transportation is available
to both Malls via Chatham Area Transit. (Catch a Cat info: 912-233-5767)
On your drive from downtown to the Malls, be sure to stop and visit The Cottage Shop at 2422 Abercorn Street (near 40th Street - just past the RR crossing!). There you will find lots of unique gift items, China, Crystal, Garden Accessories, and a large selection of excellent stationery.
And, of course, there is plenty of shopping for your pleasure at Tybee and the surrounding Islands.
Shop Talk
Savannah’s shopping choices range from extravagant to frivolous. Naturally, the majority of upscale shopping is located in the Historic District, with Broughton Street operating as the area’s “Main Street.” Well known shops (The Gap, Banana Republic, Levy Jewelers, Globe, Birkenstock, etc.) are located here, as well as bountiful souvenir closets and elegant clothing stores. Bay and Bull Streets are also lined with an assortment of venues.
Until the 1950’s, City Market was the center of port city commerce. Now renovated to marketable splendor, this art-infused area gathers a mix of tourists, students, and shoppers. Most of the city’s art galleries and studios thrive here, with a lively mix of cafes and jazz spots. Students and locals with attitude (a cool t-shirt and some memory of enjoying your college years) should not miss out on Vinnie Van Go Go’s. It’s a lively, inexpensive spot to grab a slice of pizza if you’re in the market area.
Local Savannahians and families often flock to River Street on First Saturday.” (first Saturday of each month) Free and open to the public, first Saturday provides a platform for local artists and vendors to sell their goods along the waterfront. Clowns, mimes, and musicians add to the mise-en-scene.
Downtown is also home to some pretty fabulous book stores. E. Shaver Bookseller (Bull Street) offers a great selection of old maps and regional books. For “gently used” books, you can’t beat The Book Lady (Liberty Street). A cozy labyrinth, paradoxical but true.
If you can’t find what you need downtown, just get on Abercorn Street and drive South. There are two major Malls and myriad shopping plazas along the way. Everything you could possibly need is on this strip of road. Check back with us for new info on budget and family shopping ideas.
Kilwin’s Chocolate and Ice Cream Shoppe: Another Sweet Addition to Broughton
by David Norman
 Broughton Street has long been a prime focus of business revitalization efforts in Savannah, and new stores are always popping up there. Last July, for example, Annie Allman’s Downtown Music opened at 5 W. Broughton, selling musical instruments and rock n’ roll collectibles, and offering an after-hours emergency music store, a musicians’ lounge, and rehearsal spaces. Similarly, Civvies New and Recycled Clothing has now opened a shop on Broughton, and DC2 Design is expanding to another location on the other side of Broughton as well. With all the changes, local shoppers and tourists alike are reaping the benefits.
One recent example of this kind of growth and revitalization can be seen in the opening of Kilwin’s Chocolate and Ice Cream Shoppe at 20 E. Broughton. Recently, owners Jesse and Diana Meeks hosted a delightful, delicious ribbon-cutting ceremony and Grand Opening for their new Broughton Street store. Enjoying out-of-this world chocolate samples and small, celebratory sips of champagne, an eager crowd listened to the very talented Trae Gurley croon classic Frank Sinatra melodies, before trickling out to a blocked-off portion of Broughton to hear the Meeks and several city and business leaders speak.
 Opening the ceremony, Diana and Jesse thanked their “wonderful neighbors and wonderful staff” for “the success of a dream that began forty years ago.” “We love Broughton, Savannah, and all of you,” Diana said, addressing the large crowd gathered outside in the winter afternoon sunshine.
Taking the podium next was Ralph Zezza, Chair of the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority. Mr. Zezza praised the Meeks for their delicious addition to the neighborhood and then proudly reminded the crowd of the “140 new businesses” and “$150,000,000 in private investments” that are spearheading revitalization efforts in the downtown area. Following Mr. Zezza, Savannah City Alderman Van R. Johnson brought some levity to the crowd, already in a very good mood thanks to their sampling of Kilwin’s delectables. Admiring the wide variety of Kilwin's offerings and joking that “you should forget what your doctor tells you” about eating healthily, Johnson instructed the crowd to tell everyone who questions their “Kilwin’s habit” that “Van Johnson told you it was all right.”
 The opening was indeed grand, and many in the crowd returned to the store for an additional sampling or two. With Broughton Street’s continuing revitalization, we can look forward to more stores like Downtown Music, Civvies, DC2 Design and, now, Kilwin’s Chocolates and Ice Cream Shoppe to make Broughton a thoroughly enjoyable place to shop. Savannah Downtown Business Association President Susan McClelland had it exactly right when she said that Kilwin’s is a “sweet and important addition” to “one of the best shopping areas in the city.”
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