Whilst running some errands in Brainerd I decided to take a look and see what else I might want to…read morevisit in the area. I found BDG in the course of doing a bit of online sleuthing for what to do in Beverly, but actually hadn't planned to visit because I knew my time was limited. However, it happened to be near another shop I'd decided to visit, which was very serendipitous since Beverly Dry Goods is a great shop and I'm glad I didn't miss out!
The proprietor was really friendly. Most of the time I was in the store (December 22, 2021) I was the only one there, but there was a few minutes when there was one to three others in the store. I also got lucky (for my comfort level, at least) that there were so few folks in, because the woman running the shop mentioned that she might be able to grab a quick bite to eat that day because it had been so busy for the last few days.
It's a pretty small store, but they are packed full of stuff. Although it's not solely dry goods, there's a lot of variety in what they sell. You'll find textiles (they had some nice hats and stuff when I was there), barware (mixers, drink accessories, etc.), candles and incense, cards, and so on. I bought some fun glitter for drinks, which I used on New Year's Eve for wine to ring in the new year, but you could easily use it in water/juice/pop or whatever for kids or folks who don't drink alcohol. I also bought an item that I can only describe as incense matches; they're discreet, don't burn long, and don't have a smell that's overpowering or lingers overly much. I find that they're perfect for just about any room in the house; I don't tend to like incense because it's far too strong and the scent hangs around forever, but not with this product. They also recently shared that they have some nonalcoholic mixers coming in, and they occasionally do events--if the timing of it worked for me, I may have gotten a ticket to the Galentine's Day Cocktail Class they're offering this coming week!
When I was in, they had a their windows decorated as part of a contest that some of the businesses in Beverly were taking part in. Their decoration was in the style of a Chicago flag, which I loved (and took a couple photos with, which apparently was their objective because after I did I saw that they had a note encouraging people to do so!).
Beverly Dry Goods seems like one of those shops that, although they may carry some items pretty regularly due to their popularity, is always on the lookout for new things, seasonal merchandise, and so on so I'm going to keep them in my sights (and follow them on instagram @beverlydrygoods). I'm sure I could find a fun gift for someone here if I needed one, and it's always great to have a place where you can get unique gifts in your back pocket. They're located on South Walden Parkway, which is a short street that I'm pretty sure isn't on the Chicago grid--so north siders, you might miss it the first time! It's also on the Metra Rock Island line, so if you are on that and get off at the 99th street stop you're right next to it--the shop's south wall borders the small parking lot for the Metra station. Street parking in front is limited, but if I recall correctly is also free, and there's additional parking available on the surrounding streets.
