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Check out these four new small retail shops opening around town

By Jessica Rine

Photo courtesy of Glamour Bento Think pink at Glamour Bento, a Korean beauty store opening in Sacramento on Dec. 15.

From a cactus nursery to a K-beauty bazaar, we've rounded up four eclectic new shops opening up their doors in and around Sacramento.

Glamour Bento

After Tianyi "Mimi" Zhou, who was born in China and raised in Korea, moved to Sacramento four years ago, she missed her Korean beauty products. She began purchasing popular items for herself and selling them to her friends, eventually creating I'm Mimi International, Inc., which now distributes Korean beauty products to retailers like Urban Outfitters, Ulta and Forever 21, and will soft-open its own retail space called Glamour Bento off of Belvedere Avenue and Power Inn Road on Friday, Dec. 15. Glamour Bento, says spokesperson Sahaira Murillo, will carry notable skin care lines like Cosrx, Banilaco, Elizavecca (carbonated bubble masks anyone?) and Papa Recipe, as well as cosmetics like Pony eye shadows and wine-bottle-shaped lip tints. Patrons can explore the "play area" in the middle of the store with TV screens showing K-beauty trends, and receive a skin-care consultation and tutorials on the famous 10-step Korean facial regime, which includes two cleansers, toner, essence, serum and SPF. Glamour Bento. Open Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-6 pm. 8185 Belvedere Ave. 222-1159. glamourbento.com (Website will launch on Dec. 15.)

Goodwill

This ain't your mama's Goodwill. The new location of the national thrift store chain just outside of East Sacramento is taking over the former locale of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op at Alhambra Boulevard and S Street starting Dec. 20, and will feature a curated selection of trendy secondhand duds—think crop tops, joggers and lots of denim—while the interior will have a more industrial chic look with exposed wood and metal accents, than the typical white and blue motif of other national stores, says Karen McClaflin, Chief Development Officer for Goodwill Sacramento Valley & Northern Nevada. The exterior walls will display artwork by homeless youngsters at Wind Youth Services and Next Move family shelter. The store's grand opening will begin at 8 a.m. with coffee, tea and breakfast pastries, and the first 200 customers will receive a reusable shopping bag. From opening day until Sunday, Dec. 24, shoppers will also be able to enter into a drawing for a cruiser from nearby Mike's Bikes. Grand opening Wed. Dec. 20 at 8 a.m. Open Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. 1900 Alhambra Blvd. goodwillsacto.org

The Kitchen Table

After a 20-year career in psychology, Susan O'Brien knows one thing for sure: People want to connect. And she knows that people most often connect over food. Hence, The Kitchen Table, a new East Sacramento kitchen goods shop and gathering place, was born. A finalist for the annual Calling All Dreamers small business contest organized by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, O'Brien opened her kitchen emporium with her husband Kevin on Nov. 20 in a former shoe store on 33rd Street. The small yet bright and airy space showcases items like Nordic Ware baking tins and Now Designs' retro bread boxes, as well as local goods like olive oils and vinegars from Capay Valley Ranch, honey from Winters' Pure Honey (O'Brien recommends the lavender flavor), soda syrups from Burly Beverages, Preservation & Co.'s ubiquitous Bloody Mary mix, and artisan tea blends from fellow Dreamers semifinalist The Novel Tea. The space, which boasts a working kitchen, is available to reserve for private events, and O'Brien hopes to eventually host community activities like cooking demos or a cookbook club. Open Tue.-Fri. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 1462 33rd St. 588-9866. facebook.com/kitchentablesac

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The Prickly Pear

On Dec. 16, Mona Bahraini, who grew up around spiky and drought-resistant plants in Arizona, will host a grand opening for her cactus-and-succulent-focused nursery out of her Oak Park home. The greenhouse, which will be open by appointment only, will feature a lounge area decorated with her own collection of cacti and succulents, potted plants for sale and a "pot-your-own" area where visitors can pick a plant, tuck it in one of her mason-jar-turned-pots and fill it with pebbles. Bahraini, who also sells her potted plants at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op, says she will post open dates on her Instagram account each month. At the opening, which will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Dec. 16, The Prickly Pear will also feature tea samples from Classic Hippie Tea Co., and cactus-themed works from local artists OliandBaz (aka Rachel Kerns) and Tonja Wilcox. Grand opening is Dec. 16 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 3956 1st Ave. 480-717-8452. instagram.com/the.prickly.pear

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