A random thought popped in my head one night as I was sitting in front of the television in my hotel room. I hadn't been to FYE in eons.
I did a quick search. Minnesota has a grand total of two FYE stores. One is in Duluth. The other is this store at Maplewood Mall.
The following day, I drove up the Maplewood Mall. It was a perfect day to hibernate in a warm mall. It was -22°C with a windchill of -32°C. I was up for exercising my arms, legs, and credit card in this store.
FYE is located on the first floor, in centre court by the carousel. There was a sale going on. I walked in.
In the past, I hit FYE for used and new CDs. Naturally, the store has changed with the times. I like the change.
I was in awe of the wall full of snacks and candy. OMG! I actually audibly said that looking at various mochi flavours, Pocky, and Garbage Pail Kids cereal. One word: heaven!
I then lost it in front of the Hello Kitty and Pusheen section. A Hello Kitty backpack with food and beverages on it? Yes, please! Pusheen drinks and apparel? I want all of it!
Luckily, there was a sale going on. If you bought one clothing item, you got the second one of equal or lesser value for 50% its regular price. I didn't own any Pusheen or Hello Kitty clothing until I got a t-shirt with both characters on it and a long-sleeved shirt with Pusheen that day.
The music section is much smaller at FYE these days. Seeing Depeche Mode on vinyl made my day. There were also Funko Pop figures of Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys that made my day.
There are also a bunch of plushies in this store. The Squishmallows tugged at my heart.
If you are into Grogu (also known as Baby Yoda and The Child), you need to check out the merchandise here. I have never seen so many Grogu products, from a lava lamp, to a powerbank. I ended up getting a Grogu PopSocket. I had never seen one before.
I also got a USB C cable that was sparkly and purple. It is rare to see that combination. It was on sale. Yay!
I removed a star from my rating for how long it took someone to attend to the cashout area. I probably waited there for a good seven minutes until a male staff member came out of the back area to scan my items so I could pay for them. He was nice.
I paid with a credit card. It was great. I got my goodies in a large bag. I thanked him and happily hauled both the bag and me out the door.
My USB C cable works like a charm. I used it earlier today to charge my phone. It's perfect.
I loved all my purchases here. If you see someone with a Pusheen shirt on, you know that it's me.
It was nice visiting an FYE again. I'd definitely return to this store when I'm back in the city.
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