Along Main Street: shopping in Sayville
Walking along Main Street near Candee Avenue in Sayville on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014. Sayville is a quaint village with mom-and-pop shops open year-round. Credit: Linda Rosier
Sayville's Main Street is the kind of downtown where you can get out of the cold by walking into warm and friendly shops.
"It's a good walkable town to find one-of-a-kind items," says Paper Doll Vintage Boutique owner Dominique Maciejka.
The downtown has lots of places to have lunch with friends, or to grab a slice -- at Sayville Pizza.
The town also has the good fortune of having two chocolate shops -- Sweet Gourmet (69 Main St.) and Sayville Chocolatier (6 Main St.)
Here're some other fun shops on Main Street.
1. Paper Doll Vintage Boutique
23 N. Main St.
631-319-1919, shoppaperdollvintage.com
A happy little vintage clothing store highlighting decades from the 1900s to the 1970s, including handbags, dresses, jewelry and even lingerie. It also adds a hint of burlesque to its fashion.
A small, black-beaded hat with a companion adornment of feathers and appliqués ($34 for the hat, and $55 for the added pieces) has all the ambience of the Great Gatsby era. A "Mad Men"-styled black-and-red dress with a big red bow ($89) and a large assortment of Whiting and Davis chain mail purses span a 100-year period.
The shop has a great makeup application deal on Friday nights for $15, and holds classes in burlesque as well.
22 Main St.
631-750-1790, rumpelstiltskinyarns.com
If you have a yen for yarn, stop by the knit shop where owner Angela D'Aguanno will invite you in to see its high-end wares. Heirloom-quality yarns range from Rowan's pure wool for $18 a skein to Marino wool ($15) to Kraemer acrylic yarn ($7.50).
"Using good yarns is an investment in your time," says D'Aguanno, who also has a cozy place in the back of the shop for its booming knitting classes. More than 500 students a month take classes here and at the Stony Brook location.
"It's yoga for the mind," she says. "We create beautiful things."
In addition to yarns, the store sells the popular collectible MacKenzie-Childs home goods line -- including tea kettles, serving dishes and trays -- seen on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."
3. Guru's
78 Main St.
631-750-5203
If you're in need of something spiritual, look no further than Guru's.
The store, which sells spiritual items tied to Indian culture, is full of warmth and calming mantra music from the moment one walks in the door.
There are clothing and tapestries imported from India (high-end silk and satin bedcovers, $255 to $380) and sage for burning ($5 to $8 a bunch). Traditional singing bowls, which make pitch-perfect sounds, start at $90. There are chakra candles for $18, as well as books on healing and mantra CDs.
"Sayville is a spiritual town," says co-owner Navi Sonkiya, and that is what drew him to the location. The store also hosts reiki and other healing classes.
4. Time Tunnel Antiques
136A Main St.
631-750-1506
One of those old antique stores where a lady keeps her pocketbook close to her side for fear of knocking a tea set off the counter, it's full of all sorts of unusual finds.
There are stacks of old Marvel comic books ($3 to $8), along with old Victrola albums (Nat King Cole, $5) and a Bavarian cake set ($29).
Take a walk down memory lane to go through the old movie and concert posters -- from the 1960s and after -- that sell for $10.
95 Main St.
631-589-1515
Owners and sisters Lucy Pazienza and Mary Stallone say Sayville is a great place to own a business, with many residents devoted to the downtown shops. "They love the town and so do we," says Pazienza. "We have a lot of loyal customers."
Why not? With a store full of fun home goods, including whimsical owl bookends ($33) and cozy fringed throws ($55 to $65) there is a lot to see and buy, too.
There are also children's clothes and gifts. A latest find included a toddler-sized Sweet Kids red satin and tulle dress on sale for $32.
Oh, and the store will box and wrap your purchase gratis, if you choose.
