By Stefene Russell
Photographs by Ashley Heifner
Deep in Florissant, just on the cusp of Old Town, you’ll find one of the few surviving five-and-dimes in the metro area. Those still smarting from the loss of Spicer’s should take a trip down to Patterson Plaza, the unassuming mid-century shopping strip where Nagle’s is located. Though the store’s façade blends in with the rest of the shops on the row, the inventory hearkens back to far earlier days, when “variety store” was not synonymous with “super center.” You can find just about anything here. There’re the old five-and-dime standbys—sour apple candy and Maryjanes in clear jars—as well as Yankee candles, wreaths and acres of tidily stocked glass cases full of ceramic collectibles (for $19.97: a mouse peeking out of a ruby slipper, with the tagline “Shoes bring you home”). The rest of the stock is either very, very practical (cards, wrapping paper, flower seeds, mason jars, garden hoses) or delightfully impractical, including little girl’s china tea sets ($19.97), blue toile butcher aprons ($17.95), tiny paper fans ($.39), a rainbow of Rit dye ($2.39) and dioramas encased inside giant sugar eggs ($2, on clearance). Bonus points to the clever person who decided to hang wind chimes large and small near the air current generated by the ceiling fan; one of the pleasures of shopping here is the constant presence of this gentle, strange soundtrack.
Nagle’s (19 Patterson Plaza, Florissant, Mo., 314-838-4444)
