There’s no place quite like Magnolia Park, stuffed as it is with offbeat specialty stores. “A great strip for the nerd and geek in all of us” is how Dark Delicacies bookstore owner Del Howison describes Magnolia Boulevard, the main drag. He and two other shop owners lead the tour.

A trio of shopkeepers share their favorite spots…

“Even before my husband, Kyle, and I opened the shop, we’d go on dates here. Coffee at Romancing the Bean and walking was a perfect afternoon. What Katie Did is a vintage clothing store, and Audrey K is a lingerie shop a few doors over. Audrey and Katie both work at their stores and can tell you what style works best with your body. I’m also a huge Porto’s fan. Their mango smoothies are amazing.”

Tiarra M. Nappi of It’s a Wrap!

“We sell clothing from movies and TV shows, like Kramer’s shirts from Seinfeld and Kirk and Spock’s Star Trek uniforms. Vintage clothing is a big draw here. Junk for Joy is organized chaos, with bell-bottom pants and crazy sunglasses, while Play clothes is all from the 1940s and beyond. We’ve seen Jay Leno pull up in a classic car at Autobooks-Aerobooks, and Pinocchio’s is a happy Italian deli. At Yummy Cupcakes, I like the one that looks like a Hostess CupCake.”

“We’re the only all horror book and gift store in the United States. Some people call Magnolia Park the horror crawl. You can park the car and walk around all day. Bearded Lady has taxidermy and Ouija boards and its mystic museum in the back. Halloween Town is a year-round costume and toy shop. Blast from the Past has toys and games from the ’60s to the ’80s, and they do a giant horror trivia night with food trucks every third Thursday.”

Lisa Corson

Things to know before you go…

Cosmetics historian Gabriela Hernandez spent years perfecting her line of hand-cast, vintage-y lipsticks and makeup inspired by her grandmother’s collection.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tony's Darts Away (@tonysdartsaway) on Sep 11, 2018 at 11:05am PDT

Beer impresario Tony Yanow’s spot isn’t just crafty, it’s broad-minded—with snackables like meatless bacon wrapped franks and vegan banh mi to pair with what’s on tap.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Atomic Records (@atomicrecordsla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 11:22pm PDT

There might be a little too much vinyl in the cramped aisles of Atomic Records, but that’s the trade-of for finding Walt Disney’s original Disneyland tour album from 1956.

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