I wrote a couple of months ago about shops on the south side of Merchants Square in downtown Williamsburg. This month I’m writing about the shops on the other side of Duke of Gloucester Street. These businesses all have websites that tell potential customers about their hours of operation, general services and special seasonal offers.
Places to eat
Illy Café is a European-style café serving a variety of hot and cold beverages along with bakery items such as pastries and bagels. In addition, it serves savory items such as frittatas, sandwiches and pizza. In the afternoons and evenings, customers can sip cocktails along with wine, beer and hard seltzer. This restaurant is only a few steps away from the William & Mary campus, so at any time of the day a guest is likely to find professors and students taking advantage of the pleasant indoor and outdoor seating.
Williamsburg Winery’s Merchants Square Wine Bar is an offshoot of the Williamsburg Winery located in James City County. The tasting room offers wine flights as well as wine by the bottle in its outdoor seating area or in its cozy second-floor inside seating area. Customers can enjoy a selection of local cheese and charcuterie to accompany the wine options. Happy hour is every day from 3 to 6:30 p.m., and on various nights they host tasting challenges, a game night or “sip slow” times.
DOG Street Pub is described as an American gastropub, combining the casual atmosphere of a pub with good food. The menu offers a wide range of dining options, from soups and salads to appetizers, sandwiches, burgers and large-plate entrees. The dessert menu provides an enticing array of options to cap off a meal. In addition, the restaurant prides itself on its extensive menu of craft beers from local breweries as well as from global sources. The secluded private dining room is a great place for up to 50 guests to enjoy private celebrations or corporate gatherings.
Clothing
The Campus Shop offers everything a customer can expect from a college store — T-shirts, sweats, polo shirts, mugs, glasses and room decor. The store carries Williamsburg-themed items in addition to the William & Mary things.
Talbots is a national chain store that occupies a prime position on Merchants Square, just across Boundary Street from the W&M campus. It offers a wide range of clothing in average, petite and plus sizes, along with shoes and accessories to complete an outfit. New arrivals and sale items are featured on its website, along with an opportunity to make a free appointment with a Talbot associate to help you find what you need for a special occasion.
R. Bryant Ltd. has been providing traditional menswear on Merchants Square for more than 40 years. It offers high quality menswear, quality customer service and fitting and tailoring services. The shop’s knowledgeable sales associates offer advice on custom suits, sports jackets and tuxedos.
Lululemon is a national chain store offering athletic apparel, footwear and accessories for yoga, running, training and other activities. Its trendy clothing for men and women, along with bags and other accessories, will appeal to anyone who has — or wants to have — an active lifestyle. The store offers in-store personal shopping appointments, easy deferred payment plans, free in-store hemming and easy returns.
Specialty stores
The Precious Gem offers high-quality jewelry, including handcrafted fine jewelry and custom designs. The first Precious Gem shop opened in Williamsburg in 1980, and the current Duke of Gloucester location opened in 2000. The owner is a master goldsmith and jewelry designer, and over 90& of the fine jewelry in the store is made on-site in the owner’s design studio.
Danforth Pewter began as the Shirley Pewter Shop in 1964. After a complete renovation in 2013, it became Danforth Pewter. Every piece of pewter is made by hand in the company’s Vermont workshop. The store offers a wide variety of items — oil lamps, Christmas ornaments, figurines and jewelry, along with home items, pottery, keyrings and tokens and charms.
J. Fenton is a clothing and gift boutique that features natural fiber clothing and accessories for women, including FLAX and Eileen Fisher clothing in sizes 6-26, artisan jewelry, American handcrafts and a collection of unique gift items.
The Christmas Shop, the community’s first Christmas store, specializes in collectible Christmas merchandise, including Williamsburg ornaments. The store offers modern collectibles and will personalize items with names, dates and even photos.
The Spice and Tea Exchange of Williamsburg is a place to find spices, herbs, blends and rubs, specialty salts, flavored sugars and hand-selected teas and accessories. Its tea bar allows visitors to sip a cup of tea before going about their day.
Blink offers designer gifts along with clothing, accessories and home décor. It also offers interior home design services. Inside, tastefully arranged display rooms allow visitors to enjoy items in a setting where they might be displayed in a home. The classic designs of the clothing and accessories will appeal to women of all ages.
Colorful Stitches Fine Yarn is just what it sounds like – a place to find natural fiber hand knitting yarns from around the world. It also features kits and patterns from leading knitwear designers. It also sells instructional books, a variety of knitting needles and a variety of notions and gifts.
Three Cabanas is a Lilly Pulitzer specialty store, full of resort wear for women, including dresses, activewear, swimwear, loungewear and accessories. Bright prints dominate the store’s offerings, and the opportunity to buy matching outfits for the adults and children in the family is an additional selling point.
Colonial Williamsburg properties
Brick and Vine, Colonial Williamsburg’s flagship store on Merchants Square, features Williamsburg brand home décor, furnishings and accent pieces. It also offers exclusive gourmet food, craft beer, wine, jewelry, collectibles and seasonal decorations. The experts in the second-floor design center will help customers choose the right elements to create a beautiful and comfortable living space.
There’s no time like the present to become reacquainted with Merchants Square.
Karen McPherson is a retired teacher, volunteer at Literacy for Life and instructor at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at William & Mary. She can be reached at kamcpherson168@gmail.com.