The annual 2nd Street Festival may be the neighborhood's main event, but Northern Liberties' small businesses are the reason to come back. These are some of our favorite spots in NoLibs to shop year-round.
Beginning in 1993 as a record label in West Chester, this indie record store on Second Street has a wide selection of new and used vinyls, deep cuts, and $1 cassette tapes. Located within walking distance of live music venues like Ortlieb’s, The Fillmore, and The Ave, Creep Records also gives away show tickets on its Instagram page.
The North Fourth Street shop carries a wide variety of indoor tropical houseplants as well as outdoor annuals and perennials. The shop will occasionally host terrarium-making classes and is a pick-up site for the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA.
Owner Alané Dame has curated a collection of vintage clothing and accessories for all genders. Digging through the racks, you’ll find vintage items such as fur coats, purses from the 1950s, vintage Fendi leather pumps, and bomber jackets. Dame said in this recent 6abc feature that opening a store like this has been a dream of hers since she was 18 years old.
Low-waste sustainability company Ray’s Reusables started out of a van in 2020, doing the local farmer’s market circuit until it opened a storefront on Second Street in 2022. The store has everything you need to have a more sustainable home, with stations to refill everything in your personal containers from liquid dish soap to face wash. It also partners with Bennett Compost as a drop-off site for food scraps.
