The first time I stepped into Lewis & Co. Ltd. Stagg Shop on Vienna Street in downtown Ruston, I had been here in school for over a year.

 I was looking for a certain type of shirt to get my boyfriend for Christmas and wandered into this store I had seen many times but never ventured into.

Two months later, the owners of Lewis & Co. announced they were closing their stores — after 140 years of being in Ruston.

Why did it take me so long to become aware of the Lewis stores, only to take advantage of one shortly before they closed?

Many places in Ruston are like this for me — I’ve been here since September 2003, and I’m still discovering new stores that have been here all along.

While Lewis is a more drastic example, since its location was very visible downtown, it still goes to show that it is easier to go to the mall or the place you’ve heard of most than explore the various and unfamiliar options that you may have to seek to find.

Ruston has a couple of particularly popular coffee shops, but I wonder how many people have noticed The Inklings, a small coffee and juice café, on Arizona Street.

The setting is intimate and the courtyard in the back, peaceful.

It’s hard to observe, though, or even think of, if one is only looking for the place “where everyone goes.”

The Gospel, 2368 Hwy 821, is a Christian training center, and is generally unknown, as far as I’ve heard.

It has a lake and is a scenic, free place to go and sit peacefully.

This is a great option for me when I want to go sit by a lake but do not want to pay about $2 to do so.

Roxanne’s Jewelry & Gift Boutique, 115 E. Texas Ave., is a hip little jewelry shop that is a bit overshadowed sometimes.

Even so, the prices are great and the merchandise, very cute.

In the strip of stores on North Service Road, it is hard to see The Avenue Bibles, Books & Gifts in the corner of the center. This is another place you may just happen to stumble upon, because it’s not widely known, and not visible among the dozens of other stores that surround it.

Perhaps something that makes these places what they are is the fact that not everyone knows about them.

They are not usually crowded, and you can go there feeling like you have the place almost to yourself.

It seems like almost a sin to not explore the unique shops around town — especially because these shops are a big part of what makes Ruston so quaint and lovely.

This is a ‘sin’ that I will attempt not to commit anymore — I don’t want to discover another great store, only to have it close on me, once again.

 

Sarah Broach is a junior journalism major from Luling and serves as senior news editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to slb045@latech.edu.