Downtown Akron Holiday Shopping Guide

Art books, novelty art supplies, handmade jewelry and cards, candles, puzzles, and more: The Akron Art Museum Shop is a great place to shop for the people in your life who appreciate beautiful things you can’t find just anywhere. With merchandise that corresponds with works displayed in the museum, Akron-centric postcards, pins, prints, and trinkets, they’ve got unique items for people of all ages.

Built in 1929, the Akron Civic Theatre is a performance art theater and live music venue designed after a Moorish castle. It’s one of five atmospheric theaters left in the country. With three stages programmed downtown—the main stage, Knight Stage, and Wild Oscar’s—as well as one, the Goodyear Theater, in Middlebury, opportunities abound to give your loved ones the gift of tickets to a live show in a stunning venue.

The offerings in Akron Children’s Museum’s Monster Shop are whimsical and fun, and many feature depictions of the museum’s adorable monster mascots. Find plushies, fidgets, educational toys, buttons, magnets, and other things the little ones in your life will love. Akron Children’s Museum also offers gift memberships and gift certificates.

Got a baseball fan in your life? Give them something from the Akron RubberDucks Team Shop! They’ve got all sorts of apparel, accessories, and other novelties to help people of all ages represent their favorite minor league team, as well as stuff that is uniquely Akron-y, like Sauerkraut Ball caps, all year long.

For truly unique artist-made goods, Akron Soul Train’s Soulcraft Gift Shop is one of the places you have to go. They’ve got handmade mugs, creative kits, crocheted goodies, one-of-a-kind jewelry, prints, paintings, sketchbooks, sculptures, and so much more, made by a wide array of local artists.

We’re pretty sure everyone has a favorite animal, and we’re pretty sure everyone also loves stuffed animals. On this front, you won’t find a better selection anywhere than the Akron Zoo Gift Shop. Penguins, tigers, red pandas, snow leopards, otters, snakes, tortoises, lions, macaws, bears, owls, and wolves—the list goes on and on. The zoo’s gift shop also has clothing, jewelry, toys, and other items that make good presents. And, to boot, when you purchase from the Akron Zoo, you support animal care, education, and conservation.

The Cellar Door Boutique is truly a hidden gem, as it’s located in the basement of the Hower House Museum, an 1871 Victorian Mansion on Fir Hill that’s open for tours of its stunning, artfully preserved interior. The Cellar Door Boutique has all sorts of special items like puzzles, jewelry, teacups, and holiday decorations.

Located in the heart of downtown, Chill Ice Cream and their co-located little sister company, Indulge Chocolates, are ideal purveyors of goods for the person in your life with an insatiable sweet tooth. Gift cards purchased from Chill & Indulge work on both the ice cream and chocolate sides of the shop, and Indulge’s assortments of chocolate bark, ganache, creams, and covered fruits, marshmallows, nuts, and more are delightfully decadent and beautifully packaged.

With the number of trails that run through and around Akron, bikes and bike gear are practically essential. The Northside District of downtown Akron is home to Dirty River Bicycle Works, ready to satisfy all your bike and bike accessory gifting needs. They also do repairs and maintenance. And the shop has a live-in cat.

Hobby shop Full Grip Games is on the corner of E. Market and S. Summit St. It’s filled to the brim with aisles and aisles of board games, supplies for role-playing games such as dice, a huge selection of Magic: The Gathering and other trading cards, and super-soft Pokémon plushies.

Grismer’s Christian Gifts has been open in Akron since 1934. Their quaint shop on S. High St. is a reliable place to find religious books, statues, cards, décor, and other gift items with Christian iconography.

Lepley & Co.’s humble beginnings as a front-yard plant stand in Goodyear Heights have ultimately led to a booming plant shop with three locations, one of which is located inside Northside Marketplace. It’s a lovely place to find all sorts of houseplants, flower arrangements, one-of-a-kind pots, crystals, artist-made goods, and of course, Lepley & Co. apparel.

Give somebody in your life the chance to relax and unwind with a massage from licensed massage therapist Sonya Lee at Let’s Heal Massage Therapy. Lee offers multiple types of massages, including relaxation, aroma touch, deep tissue, and hot stone massages. Call (330) 208-5765 to inquire about purchasing a gift certificate.

At the Library Shop at Main, you’ll find a treasure trove of used and rare books, movies, and music sold at unbeatable prices (hardcovers go for $2, paperbacks go for $1, and children’s books go for $1 apiece). Bonus: When you shop at the Library Shop at Main, you’re directly supporting library initiatives and making our community a great place to live.

Modern Traditions Co. is a purveyor of unique vintage clothing pieces. Their primary collection is inside Northside Marketplace and is full of quality denim, jackets, and other seasonal pieces—all of which are at least 30 years old. They also have a selection of attire inside Rubber City Comics.

The Nightlight is an independent, nonprofit movie theater on N. High St. They have a bar within the theater, as well as a variety of locally made snacks, and always an exciting lineup of unique films in the queue. Purchase your friend or family member a gift card to the Nightlight—or better yet, a gift membership they can enjoy all year long. The Nightlight is also currently selling oodles of movie posters from their 10-year-old archive to fund their second screen expansion.

Northside Cellar is a spunky boutique that carries new and consignment women’s clothing, shoes, accessories, home goods, local artwork, and furniture. Shop a unique inventory of hand-selected items that you can’t find just anywhere, for a variety of personal styles and on every budget.

Northside Marketplace is an incubator space and urban market that focuses on supporting social interaction, local businesses, and grassroots artisans. Their halls are home to 140+ vendors selling art, jewelry, body care products, books, clothing, toys, and so much more. You’ll have to visit for yourself to see just how wide the range of offerings is. Take our word for it: If you’re in a hurry and need to get all your holiday shopping done in one place, this is the place to do it, with plenty of time to spare for a drink at the bar or a bite to eat from NOMZ, Essential Dipped Delights or the Plannerz Place Eatery.

The Peanut Shoppe is located on Main Street and has been open since the 1930s. Owned by Marge Klein, at any given time the Peanut Shoppe sells 30 to 40 different candies, nuts, chocolates, and more. Want to send a gift box? They will also ship your selections anywhere in the U.S.A.

Rubber City Comics is the longest running comic bookstore in the Akron area, in business for more than 45 years. Their bins are full of comics, and their shelves are full of collectibles like special edition board games and loads of Funko Pops. The back of the store also features vintage clothing items from Modern Traditions Co.

Street Craftery is a canvas and candle studio on S. Main St. Give your family and friends a gift card to participate in a fun, relaxing candle-making or guided painting/craft workshop, or take a look at the curated selection of candles and other gift items for sale in the store.

Summit Artspace is a nonprofit community arts center in the Historic Arts District and the perfect place to shop for the art lovers in your life. In addition to Summit Artspace’s seasonally rotating exhibitions, more than two dozen local artists have studio space in the building, many of whom have prints, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and other handmade works of art available for sale at a variety of price points. Lizzi Aronhalt, April Couch, Tom Baldwin, Jessica Skinner, and Jennifer Worden are just a handful of artists with work for sale in the building.

Looking to go big on a gift for someone on your list this year? Like, expertly refinished mid-century modern furniture big? Sweet Modern has you covered. They source high-quality mid-century pieces that are sturdy enough to stand the tests of time—from retro sofas and dining sets to credenzas and fully functioning console stereos. Most of Sweet Modern’s stock is priced to include the cost of custom upholstery and finishing, ensuring it’s absolutely perfect for your space.

Tammy O’s Salon and Spa is located in the Akron Centre Plaza and offers services from lash enhancement and haircuts to massages, facial treatments, manicures, pedicures, and waxing. Call (330) 253-2300 to inquire about gift certificates.

Trust Books is a great option for finding gifts for the book worm in your life. Located in the basement of the building at 106 N. Main St., they boast a highly curated selection of secondhand books, all of which are purchasable on the honor system.

Zeber-Martell is a clay studio and gallery in the Northside District that’s home to breathtakingly beautiful pieces of home and holiday décor, lamps, jewelry, garden sculptures, and more, most of which are created and painted by shop owners Claudia Zeber Martell and Michael Martell. Their shop is filled with one-of-a-kind pieces fit to become sentimental family heirlooms.