Update on Dec. 26, 2017: Sadly, Denton's Downtown Mini-Mall caught fire this morning. That got us reminiscing about this mini-mall mini-adventure we had a couple years ago.
Original story: Downtown Denton is a hip place to be these days. There are coffeehouses, fancy doughnuts, a brewpub opening soon, and a speakeasy owned by local musicians. But a few things haven't changed. Like Downtown Mini-Mall and its next-door neighbor Downtown Mini-Mall II, which still occupy part of one side of the square. The front-window displays of samurai swords and other oddities and antiques seem to have been nearly the same for decades.
Inside you'll find the typical trappings of a flea market: coin collections, old photos, Fiesta ware, dusty books, collectible plates, knick-knacks, tchotchkes, doo-dads, etc. Need something for a white elephant party? This is the place. How about a Legend of Zelda shield for Comic Con? Boom! Covered.
Here are a few things of our favorite things: That metal Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox I coveted in elementary school. A flock -- sorry, parliament -- of 1970s ceramic owls for Sarah Blaskovich's desk. A pair of replica Egyptian sarcophaguses (mummies not included). The first three seasons of Cheers on VHS. A Shih Tzu Christmas ornament (other breeds available). Several shelves of plastic-wrapped Playboy magazines (mainly '80s, judging by the hairdos). An underground bunker's worth of Comet, rubbing alcohol and baby oil (Seriously. Back room. Not expired. Reasonably priced, it seemed.). The knowledge that a coworker will don vintage clothes, including a rabbit fur coat, but she draws the line at used wigs. A plan to come back here if a zombie apocalypse cropped up while we're in town because in addition to the aforementioned swords, we also found chainmail, helmets, knives and canisters of BB pellets.
But most importantly we found a good time, walking the aisles, browsing the booths, reminiscing about the mushroom-themed kitchens of the '70s, taking photographs with random Star Wars statues on staircases. We can't promise that every shopper will find something that he or she can't live without, but maybe memories will be made that will last a lifetime. Like the day our boss became known as Mrs. Perez.
