A Schwab Dry Goods Store

My most absolute favourite shop in Beale street. LOVE the atmosphere, décor and items to buy. I wanted to buy everything but wallet and suitcase would not allow! After browsing the shelves, it was great to cool off at the soda fountain for a ‘float’ (we call it a spider!!) and a lovely chat with the staff behind the counter. We even got to sample some of their home made sodas. So friendly and helpful. I bought many souvenirs and goodies, and will always remember the fun time at A. Schwab’s!

The perfect shop to house a thousand and one kitschy trinkets, funny hand towels, games, knick knacks, candy, tee shirts, etc. Now that I think of it, waaaay more than a thousand and one!
Old fashioned soda fountain on the other side. Get a malt, shake or sundae! Mmmm!
You could spend HOURS looking around here. And hopefully you won’t leave empty handed either.

So this store has been on Beale Street since 1876. How cool is that? Apparently the original family no longer owns it and the products they carry have shifted over the years. So cool that they’re still in business though. Now they sell nostalgic candy, gag gifts, giftware, t-​shirts, Memphis souvenirs, etc. They also have an ice cream counter/​soda fountain. It’s a lovely place to browse while you’re at Beale Street. I’m almost certain you will leave with something!

This place is such a historic landmark and a really cool place to take visitors. I love that they did some expanding and rearranging. Now you can actually turn around in the store. Upstairs they have a variety of artifacts and antiques (some for sell). The addition of the shake (alcohol if you want) and dessert bar Is great. A lot of fun, interesting and weird items that you will not easily find elsewhere.

What’s amazing is how long this business has been around. There are pictures back from the late 1800s and that is super cool. It’s great to be in a slice of history. The staff here is super friendly. They’re very nice and accommodating when you have questions. This building is huge — three floors. They have tons of stuff for you to buy. Fun fact — if you’re a Mason they have an area for you to buy things for meetings and regalia
In half their building they have an old-​school soda station. We enjoyed some old fashioned drinks with different natural flavors. One had blueberry and lime. One had ginger ale and strawberry. One had raspberry. Each one was really good but the strawberry ginger rail was the bus

Junk shops and curios are my thing, so A Schwab is definitely my kind of place. I love it. When we checked it out on our first visit to Beale Street, my boyfriend and I didn’t know what to expect. But I guess that’s its charm; it’s all about what unexpected gem you’ll find.
My favorite thing in A Schwab is the «museum» section. It’s filled with antiques, relics, little pieces of history — just plain old-​timey goodness.
The rest of the store has a plethora of knick knacks, snacks and food goods, novelty items galore, and souvenir stuff. For me, it’s fun to look around even if you don’t plan to buy anything. This is a great store for browsing and seeing something different on Beale Street.

I don’t hang out on Beale Street much, too much tourist action for my taste. However, A Schwab is always a treat. I’ve been coming to this store since I was a little girl, and there is always something new to discover.
Old fashion toys, candy, clothing, household items you name it and A Schwab probably has it.
If you are short on time this is NOT the place for you, I can literally be in A Schwab for hours, they even have a little old time Memphis museum upstairs.
If you’ve been to A Schwab once or a million times its always a fun way to spend the day.

If you long for the days of yesteryear or appreciate all things vintage, you will love A. Schwab. This place is a total throwback. You can find all sorts of memorabilia, candies, and enjoy an old-​fashioned soda at the bar. I also had a pimento cheese sandwich which was great! It is a really cool place to just visit.

Okay… apparently I don’t know how to Beale street. I’ve been going to Beale for YEARS and I’ve gone in and out of stores but for the life of me, I do not remember A Schwab for what it is now. I don’t remember the tri-​levels, or the ice cream area, or any of the cool memorabilia. I don’t know where I’ve been, but what I do know is now that I’ve discovered this place, it might just be my favorite place in downtown Memphis.

Old fashioned candy, great memorabilia, homemade shakes = 2 happy boys. Great experience.

Truly like going back in time. Saw candies from when I was a little girl. Lots of chochkess …
Only irritating part were the customers whose kids run around the store totally out of control — but that’s not the store’s fault.
Also got a very kitschy bathcap. Its a cool place with an olde-​worlde vibe.

What’s not to love??? This place is awesome with a little bit of everything. I love my flask I got from there!

«Kitschy» little place; lots of interesting finds and souveneirs. They have a neat little museum on the first landing, and a shop upstairs as well. Downstairs they have a soda fountain and candy shop. There’s also a private room for parties. I enjoyed looking around; make sure you pay attention and don’t miss any aisles; it can be a bit disorganized.

Random store with random things that will take you down memory lane. From old childhood games (pick-​up sticks!) and throwback candy (Fun-​dip, Pop Rocks) to oversized overalls. They have pretty much everything. Good for browsing around.

Interesting little store with a variety of goods — old candies, a soda jerk, t-​shirts, a Beale Street Museum & a ton of musical gifts.
The Beale Street Museum is really just a bunch of stuff left over from other shops… The rest of the store was very interesting. Other than the girl working the Soda Fountain (who didn’t understand that we wanted a coke for the loooooooooooongest time) everyone was great. The gentleman upstairs walked us through all kinds of music trivia before playing a cigar box banjo for us!
Great store & a fun thing to do on Beale Street.

I am in love with A Schwab Dry Goods Store! I enjoyed a lot of things in Memphis, but our visit to this store may be my most favorite. We spent two hours here, and even that was not enough time.
Do you want beautiful hats? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want old school tin and wood toys? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want colorful candies? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want Masonic stuff? Go to A Schwab. (They ask for ID for this, though.)
Do you want records? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want to pick up books on the history of blues? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want to buy souvenir Memphis shirts? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want to see old time things on display? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want voodoo thingamajigs? Go to A Schwab.
Do you want milkshake? Go to A Schwab.
I can go on and on listing what they have, but honestly, I am not inclined to. Why? Because I want you to go to the store and not live vicariously through this review. It is a cool store right in Beale Street. Just go! You know you want to.

As a Grizzlies fan, I tend to spend a lot of time down in the Beale St area, and often I’ll have time to kill between events downtown. Of course, I end up strolling Beale, and of course, I end up in A Schwab often.
The store has a cool old vibe — the enormous pair of overalls behind the counter, classic toys, hats, potions, shirts, records, and of course souvenirs… you can find just about anything here. There’s a neat landing between the first and second floors that has relics from times past — desks, filing cabinets, cash registers, water fountains, etc. In a way, it’s a sort of museum of what a general store used to be in addition to being an actual general store with all kinds of interesting stuff. Being a fan of all things classic and antique, that charm is what keeps me coming back in.
One recent addition is an old-​fashioned soda counter against one wall, replete with stools and everything you would expect — soda, floats, coffee, etc. You can sit inside for a few minutes and sip on something sweet while people watching or just relaxing. The staff has always been friendly and helpful, whether at the counter or anywhere else in the store.
All of those pieces combine to make A Schwab a place where you feel like you’ve stepped back in time when you walk through the door. Pay a visit next time you’re on Beale!

The store has a wide variety of total randomness. However, I’m not reviewing that aspect. The store has some antiques to look at in a museum area, but I’m not reviewing that.
I am reviewing the brand new soda fountain! I didn’t even know that it existed until today. They have coffee, milk shakes, lemonade, limeade, some old fashioned soda, and pastries.
It looks like a step into the past. They servers even had those old time diner hats.
I ordered a fresh made lemonade and Garrett had a vanilla milk shake.
At first, I thought they were taking too long in making it, until I realized they were actually making the lemonade one cup at a time. You can’t get any fresher than that. She squeezed the lemons right at the bar. It was a delicious cup of awesomeness. It had the perfect balance of sweetness and sourness.
Garrett’s milkshake was also good. They made it fresh, too with ice cream and milk.
I will definitely go back! It’s a great addition!

This store has something for everyone. With a drink in my hand walking down Beale Street, I couldn’t help myself from peeking in. They had all kinds of things from clothing, hats, soap, stick horses, candy… You get the drift.
The upstairs has a museum of old things that you can’t buy. I saw old curling irons and pomade along with a short repair kit. As I made my way to the this floor, I was still amazed at the items. On this floor you can find band t-​shirts, CDs, books and any potion you can think of. The daughter of the owner was extremely nice to us as she gave us a bit of Memphis history. She really knew a lot and even shared some of her family’s history.
Definitely worth my while.

Many of my childhood memories involve field trips around Memphis. My favorite, however, was going to A Schwab Dry Goods Store (in hindsight, walking down Beale St with 6 year olds — what in the world were they thinking?). I was fascinated by the fact that they sold love potions and weird, magical items. I remember thinking potions had to be real, had to work, in order for a store to sell them, right?
Fast forward 22 years later when my intern and I were spending the day downtown and I insisted we pop in. I wanted to see if it was as cool as I remember…
Well ladies and gents, it is even cooler. Three stories of awesomeness to be exact. Not only do they sell love potions like I remember (I bought the attraction oil… which hopefully will work *cross your fingers for me*) and sage to smudge your home, but they also sell REALLY cute dresses now! And hats! And accessories! My new hat is the
and so are my new cocktail napkins that playfully hint about how much I like to drink.
I chatted with the buyer of the store for a bit and he told me they are about to open an old fashioned soda fountain and ice cream parlor on the other side of the store– can’t wait… it is a game changer. He mentioned most of his clientele consists of tourists, but they have a new local patron because this place is great (and quintessential Memphis)!