I love your photo of the front of this shop Jeff...so thanks for the post and the pictures. I have never been to this place. However, the photo of the front of the store reminds me of the pawn shops I visited with my dad when I was a little kid. These were family owned, single location shops in small towns and big cities. For the most part they were run by people who knew the goods. They were run by people with whom you could form a relationship of trust.

As a little kid who's nose did not come up over the level of the counters I would stand on my tiptoes to look down and the goods...from old gold coins to cameras to watches mixed with a lot of dreck. I watched my dad bargain with the owners. I watched them come to reasonably friendly agreement or I watched him walk out empty handed, sometimes to be followed by the owner who would yell "OK Louis, come back and deal with me"....and sometimes remaining empty handed. I learned the watch business, or at least my version of the watch business, in places that looked exactly like this...places with racks of rings and hanging saxophones and sterling silver in the windows.

I still know of a few places like this. There are still a few of the old family places left. Some are still run by the sons of the owners with whom my dad argued and bargained. Unfortunately, most of these places are gone.

So, thanks again for your picture of the front of the building. When I saw it my nose filled with the smells I smelled in these places as a little kid. If you have ever opened the case of an old Gibson or Martin guitar and smelled that wonderful and unmistakable smell of old wood, with a hint of tobacco and old leather...you know what I mean.

JohnCote