Shopping
A car is required to get to Memphis’ main shops, since these are found in the enormous shopping malls of East Memphis. Malls worth heading for include Oak Court Mall, 4451 Poplar Avenue, Wolfchase Galleria, 2760 North Germantown Parkway, and Hickory Ridge Mall, 6075 Winchester Road, all in the northeastern suburbs. The city’s newest mall is Peabody Place, 150 Peabody Place, Downtown Memphis.
Bargain hunters should head for Belz Factory Outlet Mall, 3536 Canada Road, where brand-name goods are available at up to 75% off normal prices. For musical souvenirs, it is worth visiting Shangri-la Records, 1916 Madison Avenue, which is an Aladdin’s Cave of vinyl records, cassettes and CDs. The most famous shop in Memphis is A Schwab, on Beale Street. This dusty emporium seems to have changed little since it opened in 1876. Shoppers may not be in search of size 74 men’s trousers, 44 types of suspenders or voodoo potions, but it is worth a visit just to look. Those determined to buy an Elvis souvenir should head to Graceland Plaza, opposite Graceland.
On the third weekend of each month there is a large Flea Market, situated at 955 Early Maxwell Boulevard, open 0800-1800. Shopping malls are generally open Monday-Saturday 1000-2100 and Sunday 1200-1800. There is no state income tax in Tennessee, which means that sales tax is high at 9.25% and there is no way to reclaim it. Prices in shops are quoted without this tax added on; so foreign shoppers should always bear this in mind before purchasing anything.
|
