First Place: Mongrel

2924 W. Cary St.
342-1272
mongrelrva.com

Second Place: Tweed

Third Place: Wilson Lee Interiors

Turning 26 years old in July, Mongrel is one of Carytown’s anchor stores. “When we first opened, we had a really hard time finding things we were interested in selling,” says Stan McCulloch, who opened the shop with Mark Burkett. But today, Mongrel is filled with books, glassware and tchotchkes that do speak to McCulloch and his colleagues. Like a recent display of vegan cookbooks. “It has to have an organic tie to the store. Probably half of our employees are vegan,” McCulloch says. “I think before you get started in Carytown, it’s important you have a distinctive voice. Richmond can support some really distinct, unusual kinds of stores now.”