Shopping
Winner: Sexology Institute
707 S. St. Mary's St.
(210) 487-0371
2. Love Shack Boutique
Multiple locations
3. Adult Megaplex
Multiple locations
Winner: La Segunda Bartique & Gallery
1302 S. St. Mary's St.
(210) 314-2740
instagram.com/la_segunda_bartiqueandgallery
Funking up Southtown since October of 2021, La Segunda Bartique & Gallery is the boozy treasure-hunting haunt you never knew you needed. Owned and operated by longtime San Antonio music fixture Eddie Hernandez — guitarist for the likes of Sexto Sol and Maneaters of Tsavo, and also known as DJ Plata — the bar-equipped emporium fills two floors of a 1930s-era home with anything from retro hi-fi equipment and collectible vinyl to well-preserved vintage duds and Midcentury Modern furniture. During a recent visit, we came up with an extensive wish list that includes a 2005 Rod Stewart concert T-shirt ($38), a set of six mod tulip chairs from 1957 ($550) and a trippy black-light poster of Technicolor mushrooms ($20). Conveniently, these and other purchases can be pondered in the cozy bar area, which features craft brews, micheladas and wines by the glass — not to mention timewarp decor seemingly swiped from a 1970s movie set.
2. Karolina’s Antiques
1709 Blanco Road
(210) 731-9787
3. Alamo Antique Mall
125 Broadway
(210) 224-4354
Winner: Brick at Blue Star
108 Blue Star
(210) 265-6072
2. Traders Village
9333 SW Loop 410
(210) 623-8383
tradersvillage.com/san-antonio
3. The Alley on Bitters
555 W. Bitters Road
(210) 638-8754
thealleyonbitters.com
Winner: Blue Star Bike Shop
1414 S. Alamo St.
(210) 858-0331
2. Level Up Bike Shop
1409 E. Commerce St., Space C
(210) 505-7686
3. Bicycle Heaven
Multiple locations
Winner: Half Price Books
Multiple locations
It’s hard to write about this without a tear welling in the eye. While the Half Price Books chain remains solidly represented in San Antonio, its longtime store on Broadway closed because the property was sold out from under it. The cramped store had an amazing categorical selection, yes, but more importantly the staff was a perfect storm of artists, musicians, writers and thinkers that this town needed to keep things interesting for decades. There’s no Buttercup without James Joyce, no Boxcar Satan without Edgar Allan Poe, no Hickoids without Mark Twain (or Bukowski, for that matter). Let’s pour one out for the Broadway store and raise a toast to the four SA Half Price locations still kicking ass.
2. Nowhere Bookshop
5154 Broadway
(210) 640-7260
3. The Twig Book Shop
306 Pearl Parkway #106
(210) 826-6411
Winner: Bee’s Wellness Cafe
3030 Thousand Oaks Drive, Suite 102
(210) 836-8141
2. Mellow Monkey
2286 Bandera Road
(210) 432-9333
3. Creme de la Hemp
Winner: Alamo Auto Plex LLC
4700 San Pedro Ave.
(210) 982-3257
2. North Park Lexus at Dominion
21531 W. I-10 Frontage Road
(210) 816-6000
3. McCombs Ford West
7111 NW Loop 410
(833) 711-9378
Winner: Crib & Kids
1309 N. Loop 1604 West #106
(210) 764-2742
2. Bambinos
5926 Broadway
(210) 824-7676
Winner: Chasing Camilla
Inside Painted Tree Boutiques
522 Northwest Loop 410, Suite 211
2. Defiant Boutique
Inside Elysia Collective Co.
11858 Wurzbach Road
(512) 710-9099
3. Lolo Modern Mexican Mercadito
4305 McCullough Ave.
(210) 420-4446
