I want to like this place. The staff has always been incredibly helpful and nice. It has a massive variety of things, and while the prices are higher than average for the same sort of stuff you can find in a lot of discount shops in the area, there is just way more to find here. A few years ago, they were integral to our settling in to a new apartment after a move from the west coast. At that point I noticed a faint mildew smell, but shopped anyway.
Fast forward a couple years, I need a breakfast tray, other shops that had them were sold out, and I decided to stop in. I'd been avoiding it, but in my mind it was that I knew it'd be more expensive there than elsewhere. Since elsewhere didn't even have it at the time, I figured I'd try.
This time, the mildew scent felt like a punch in the face. I immediately noticed a weird tickle in my throat. I may be particularly sensitive, having had infections before from a humidifier that hadn't been cleaned properly, and a couple other unfortunate experiences. I know how it feels to have a sore throat for three weeks from mold, it's a very specific type of soreness. By the time I got home, it was in full swing. By morning I had to call out of my job teaching kids of a variety of ages due to my lack of a voice.
One of the legs of the breakfast tray is actually split in half, but I'm not about to return it, because I won't step I there again without a mask on. read more