Our expert: After owning and operating Toad’ly Kids for 26 years, Nancy Leggett knows a thing or two about the retail business. Leggett, who closed the well-known Roanoke children’s clothing and gift store in late August, still manages to find time to shop the Star City when she’s not busy taking trips to China or jetting up to New York to babysit her grandchildren. Here’s a list of her favorite haunts.
Punch Boutique
3117 Franklin Rd. in Piccadilly Square,
shoppunchboutique.com
Leggett breaks out the adjectives to describe this women’s clothing boutique which opened in September of 2011.
“It’s zippy,” Leggett says. “It’s cute. It’s fun clothes. It’s trendy. You’d think somebody my age wouldn’t like trendy, but I do.”
Leggett also admires how the shop is arranged with ample space between racks. “It’s open,” she explains. “It’s not jammed in there.”
Shoppers go to Punch for Kate Spade bags, AG jeans, vibrant print dresses of Jude Connally and Isaac Mizrahi shoes. All in all, Leggett feels the boutique has raised the fashion bar in Roanoke.
“It’s got a lot of punch to it!” Leggett giggles.
The Herb Cellar
3107 Franklin Rd. in Piccadilly Square
“The Herb Cellar has totally different things from Punch, but I love them too,” Leggett says. “I think the Herb Cellar probably caters to an older clientele.”
Leggett often buys Eileen Fisher clothing, which the Herb Cellar carries. “It’s a nice, comfortable line,” she explains.
Leggett also makes a point of going to the shop’s trunk shows.
“I think they fill a niche in Roanoke,” Leggett says of the Herb Cellar. “They have some really beautiful traditional clothing.”
Yarid’s
4714 A Starkey Rd. at the Forum Shops, yarids.com
Leggett’s Toad’ly Kids store was a neighbor to Yarid’s, and she took the short walk from her shop to shoe heaven often.
“Dangerous,” she says. “So dangerous. I’ve gotten really spoiled with their shoes.”
Yarid’s carries labels like Kate Spade, Ugg and Tory Burch. “There’s never been a time that I walked in there and didn’t buy a pair,” Leggett says.
Townside Gardens
3614 Franklin Rd., townsidegardens.com
“That’s where I buy all my plants,” Leggett says. “I like it because everybody that works there is a real, true gardener and they’re really truly knowledgeable. You can draw a plan or they can draw a plan for you and tell you what to put in. They’ll even come to your house and install it.”
The shop produces most of the spring and summer annuals in greenhouses in Natural Bridge. “They’ve got real healthy plants,” Leggett says.
Leggett tells a story of buying some ferns from Townside Gardens one time. “They just didn’t seem to be doing well.”
Leggett says she called the garden center and explained the situation. The worker told her to bring one of the ferns to the store. “They said, ‘You know I don’t think you got a good batch’ and totally replaced them for me,” Leggett says.
Leggett doesn’t feel like that would happen at your typical chain home and garden store. “I love that place,” she gushes.
Black Dog Salvage
902 13th Street SW, blackdogsalvage.com
With “Salvage Dogs,” a documentary about the fun and funky Roanoke architectural salvage shop airing on the DIY Network, the whole country has had a chance to learn about this special shopping treasure.
Leggett can say she browsed the immense warehouse by Memorial Bridge before it became a national name.
“It’s just so unique and you can find so many unusual things,” Leggett says. “It’s fun to go in there.”
Tinnell’s Finer Foods
2205 Crystal Spring Ave., tinnells.com
Leggett says her son-in-law, who’s from Connecticut, will always call before she visits to remind her to pick up some of Tinnell’s legendary pimento cheese.
“They also have wonderful wines,” Leggett says. “If you want to go down and pick up a bottle of wine to take as a gift or for your dinner, they can advise you on that. They have great prices on the wines too.”
Tinnell’s also sells homemade crab cakes, rotisserie roasted ribs and pork barbecue. “They have wonderful meats,” Leggett says. “It’s a great grocery store with special things.”
The Second Yard Roanoke
2211 Crystal Spring Ave., thesecondyard.com
Leggett credits much of the lovely interiors in her South Roanoke home to The Second Yard and, in particular, manager Hope Hollingsworth, who directs Leggett to different fabrics. “She’s really very artistic,” Leggett says of Hollingsworth.
In addition to selling fabrics by the roll, The Second Yard also offers bedding, lamps and furniture.
Leggett recently added new window treatments and other decorator fabrics to her den. “Everything in here is Hope Hollingsworth and The Second Yard,” she says.
Provisions Gourmet
and RSVP Shop
4235 Electric Rd., provisionsrsvp.com
Leggett credits the success of Provisions Gourmet, a kitchen hardware store, and RSVP, which offers gifts, home décor and paper goods, with the keen eye of owner Kathy Oelschlager. “She gets really good merchandise,” Leggett says.
Leggett goes to Provisions for “anything you need for cooking” particularly olive oil.
She also often goes to both stores to hunt for gifts. “They have a great staff that helps you with wedding gifts or birthday gifts or whatever you need,” Leggett says.
Leggett buys notecards at RSVP. “I am still old school,” she says. “I know everybody uses e-mail, but I like to use personal notes myself.”
Bubblecake
2123 Crystal Spring Ave. and 3232 Electric Rd., bubblecake.com
Leggett knows Lisa Lusk, who owns the shops with her husband Rob, from when Lisa shopped at Toad’ly Kids. “She was a real good customer of mine and I got to know her.”
If Leggett needs a present for a child’s birthday, she’ll often pick up a gift certificate to Bubblecake. Leggett thinks kids will really go for the homemade custard Bubblecake has recently started to offer. “It’s a great place for children,” she says.
Leggett also hits the South Roanoke Bubblecake to pick up the smaller babycakes for dinner parties. “It’s a unique dessert,” she says.
Willow Grove Gifts
4706- A Starkey Rd. at the Forum Shops
Leggett loves the look owner Mary Barton has created for her shop. “She decorates it really pretty,” Leggett says.
At Willow Grove, shoppers can find holiday decorations, home décor, jewelry and monogrammed items.
Leggett tends to go to Provisions/RSVP for wedding gifts and to Willow Grove for Christmas presents. “It’s more playful, more trendy,” she explains.
Jamison’s Orchard
Farm Market
5635 Grandin Road Extension
“They are near Oak Grove School,” Leggett says. “I love going out there. I love going all seasons. In the summer, they have home-grown tomatoes, corn and beans. In the fall, they have wonderful apples. At Christmas time they make cakes and they do wonderful gift baskets.”
