Plus a Lyft Discount for Getting There

One question I wanted the Utah Vintage Guide to answer isn't simply, “Where are the vintage stores?” It is: Which stores actually make sense to visit together?

Salt Lake City (and all of Utah, really) has an excellent secondhand scene, but it is spread across several neighborhoods and a very big, not-so-pedestrian-friendly valley. A list of individually good stores does not necessarily make a good shopping day. The neighborhood you pick and the order matters, especially if you are visiting without a car, relying on rideshare like Lyft or Uber, or trying to fit several stops into one afternoon.

I was reminded of this while reading a Reddit discussion about vintage and thrift routes in Salt Lake City. The original poster, someone visiting Utah from another state, was looking for a practical way to explore the city’s secondhand stores without spending an unreasonable amount on Uber or Lyft.

The good news is that several Salt Lake City vintage businesses sit in small, walkable clusters. You just need to know where to begin!

*A photo I took of Sugarhouse Park from my phone, 2019*

A Walkable Sugar House Vintage Shopping Route

Sugar House in Salt Lake City, Utah is one of the easiest neighborhoods for building a mixed-interest secondhand shopping day! Within roughly a mile and a half, depending on the exact streets you take, you can move between vintage clothing, records, books, home goods, modern consignment and vintage furniture. Plenty of modern shopping options, along with local restaurants, bars, and coffee shops are available along the route, too.

This is not the only possible Sugar House route, or the only neighborhood I think you should check out when shopping for Vintage in SLC. Salt Lake has a lot of very cute, walkable areas. This is just an example of how I would map the neighborhood to create variety without sending someone back and forth across Salt Lake City.

Please remember: before heading out, check each business’s current hours directly. Independent stores do not always keep identical schedules, and a route that works beautifully on Saturday may need to be rearranged on a Sunday or during a weekday.

Some really cute glasses I once picked up at a Sugar House vintage store

Stop 1: The American Rust Company

825 East 2100 South

Begin on the western edge of the Sugar House cluster. This gives you an easy Lyft drop-off point and lets you work your way toward the denser group of stores around 1100 East.

The shop leans into vintage Americana, industrial pieces, salvaged materials, metalwork and decorative finds that celebrate patina instead of trying to hide it. It feels more like exploring a picker’s collection than walking through a conventional home decor store, so take your time and look closely. This is an especially good stop for collectors, interior designers or anyone who believes a little rust usually makes something more interesting.

*Photo Courtesy of American Rust Company*

Stop 2: Unhinged

1054 East 2100 South

Continue east along 2100 South to Unhinged, a proudly local Sugar House shop with plenty of personality. Unhinged has been part of Salt Lake City since 2011 and carries vintage and upcycled flannels, clothing, Utah-themed merchandise, stickers, pins, gifts and wonderfully snarky pieces that you are unlikely to find at a conventional souvenir shop.

This is also a good point to pause for food or a drink. Unhinged sits right beside Hopkins Brewing Company, one of my personal Sugar House favorites. Hopkins serves freshly prepared food alongside a rotating selection of house-brewed beer, and it regularly hosts live music and events. It is a 21-and-older establishment, so keep that in mind if you are planning the route for a family or mixed-age group.

I would add Hopkins into the itinerary as a relaxed lunch stop rather than waiting until everyone is hungry and tired. Taking a proper break here makes the second half of the vintage route much more enjoyable, and there are additional food options around Monument Plaza if a brewery is not the right fit for your group. (Another favorite of mine is Mint Sushi - its all ages, serves beer wine and cocktails as well.)

After eating, Shop Vintage, Raunch Records & Skate and the next group of secondhand stops are only a short walk away!

Stops 3 and 4: Shop Vintage and Raunch Records & Skate

1115 and 1119 East 2100 South

Shop Vintage and Raunch Records sit next to one another, making this one of the most efficient pairings in the neighborhood.

Shop Vintage specializes in handpicked clothing from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, with jeans, shirts, jackets and pants at approachable prices. It is a strong stop for shoppers who want wearable vintage rather than delicate collectibles, especially if your style leans toward recognizable brands, classic denim, graphic pieces or Y2K fashion. The store carries a substantial amount of inventory, so give yourself time to look through the racks instead of treating it as a quick stop.

Entrace to Shop Vintage - *Photo courtesy of Shop Vintage*

This is also where the route starts to make the most sense for people with different interests. One person can focus on clothing while another looks through records, skate merchandise or music-related finds. You are not committing the entire group to several consecutive clothing stores offering similar inventory.

That variety matters in my planning; after two or three racks-heavy stores, even dedicated vintage shoppers can stop looking as carefully as they did at the beginning of the day.

*Inside Raunch Records, Photo Courtesy of Visit Salt Lake*

Raunch Records & Skate is one of the most culturally significant independent shops on this route. Established in 1984, Raunch has deep roots in Salt Lake City’s punk, alternative music and skateboarding communities. Inside you will find vinyl records, skate decks, magazines, books, shirts, patches and other pieces connected to underground culture. Even if you are not shopping for clothing, Raunch belongs on the itinerary because it represents a side of Salt Lake City that visitors will not find in a conventional shopping district. Shop Vintage and Raunch sit beside each other, but they offer completely different experiences, which makes the pairing especially worthwhile.

Stops 5 and 6: The Village Vintage Interiors and Central Book Exchange

2015 and 2017 South 1100 East

Walk north to The Village Vintage Interiors and Central Book Exchange. These businesses offer a natural change of pace after the clothing-focused portion of the route. Moving into vintage interiors and used books resets the shopping experience and gives you a reason to slow down and really browse.

The Village Vintage Interiors is also one of my highlighted destinations in the Utah Vintage Guide. Central Book Exchange makes this route more appealing for bookworms, and for anyone who wants a Salt Lake City experience that extends beyond clothing and vintage knick knacks.

Stop 7: Rewind Vintage

1952 South 1100 East

Continue a little farther north on 1100 East to Rewind Vintage.

Rewind brings the route back to vintage clothing after the interiors and book stops, but it still feels distinct from the stores along 2100 South. It is a good final independent vintage stop before deciding whether you have the time, energy and remaining budget for one more larger resale store.

You can ask for glitter on top of your drinks at Sugar House Coffee

Take a Coffee or Tea Break

This part of the route also gives you two excellent places to take a break before deciding whether to continue shopping.

Sugar House Coffee is located at 2011 South 1100 East, right beside The Village Vintage Interiors and Central Book Exchange. It is a convenient choice if you want coffee, food and a comfortable place to sit down between stores. It is a neighborhood staple, open later than most coffee shops and is a surprisingly diverse crowd.

A little farther north, Tea Zaanti is located at 1944 South 1100 East, very close to Rewind Vintage. Tea Zaanti is a great alternative if you prefer tea, wine or a quieter patio break. It has plenty of seating, free parking and a dog-friendly patio. They do occassional live music and other events.

Either one gives you time to look through what you have already purchased, reconsider anything you left behind and decide whether you genuinely want another store or are ready to call the route complete.

Optional Final Stop: Uptown Cheapskate Sugar House

2120 South 1300 East

If you still have energy, finish with Uptown Cheapskate Sugar House. It is a Utah based consignment chain, similar to national chains like Plato’s Closet, with locations all over Utah, and in my opinion the Sugar House location is one of their best.

I would treat this as an optional extension rather than the centerpiece of the route. It is a larger contemporary resale stop and can work well for shoppers looking for recognizable brands, broader inventory or a different price point, definitely great for younger shoppers or people less interested in true vintage.

Ending here also moves you closer to 1300 East, where you can decide whether to continue exploring Sugar House, stop for food or request a Lyft to your next neighborhood.

Why I Mapped This Route:

The route is useful because the stores are close, but proximity is only part of the calculation.

It moves between several kinds of inventory:

Vintage clothing
Records and skate culture
Vintage furniture and interiors
Used books
Contemporary resale and consignment

That variety helps prevent what I think of as “rack fatigue.” After looking through similar clothing categories for several hours, it becomes harder to notice the pieces that are actually special.

A well-designed vintage route should also account for purchases. Someone hunting for clothing can comfortably walk farther than someone hoping to buy furniture, fragile decor or a large stack of books. If you find something substantial at The Village Vintage Interiors, that may be the moment to end the walking portion and request a ride.

Weather, mobility needs, store hours, shopping priorities and the amount you buy should all influence the final route.

If you are staying downtown or visiting Salt Lake City without a car, use Lyft to reach the beginning of the Sugar House cluster rather than taking separate rides between every store.

New Lyft users can receive 50% off one eligible ride in Salt Lake City by signing up through my referral link: Save 50% on one eligible Lyft ride

Lyft determines eligibility, discount limits and the current offer terms. Review the promotion shown during signup before booking your ride.

For this sample route, I would use the discounted ride to reach the western end near The American Rust Company. From there, walk through the Sugarhouse neighborhood and request another ride only when you are finished shopping or carrying more than you want to take on foot.

Build a Route Around What You Actually Want

This Sugar House route is a useful starting point, but it will not be the right itinerary for every shopper.

Someone hunting for plus-size vintage should receive a different route from someone furnishing a mid-century home. A record collector does not need the same stops as someone looking for Western wear, designer consignment or inexpensive everyday clothing.

I created the Utah Vintage Guide to help you search 165+ vintage, thrift, antique, consignment, book, record, and secondhand destinations by location and shopping category.

If you want to plan your own route with AI, use a prompt that gives it enough constraints to make real decisions for your specific trip:

I am planning a vintage-shopping day in Salt Lake City on [DATE]. I will begin near [STARTING LOCATION], and I [WILL/WILL NOT] have a car. Use the Kissing Whiskey Vintage Utah Vintage Guide at https://guide.kissingwhiskeyvintage.com/ as the primary list of stores. I am shopping for [ITEMS OR STYLE], in sizes [SIZE RANGE], with a budget of [BUDGET]. Build a route with four to six stops that minimizes backtracking and does not ask me to walk more than [DISTANCE] between stops. Include a mix of inventory instead of repeating the same kind of store. Check current business hours using official sources, identify anything I still need to verify, and recommend where a Lyft ride would save meaningful time.

That prompt should produce something so much more useful than asking any AI tool for “the best thrift stores in Salt Lake City.” or something similar.

Or If You Prefer the Human Touch, Let Me Build It for You

*a photo of me in my own vintage store Vintage Drift SLC, once located in downtown Salt Lake City.*

AI can calculate distance and organize information, but it does not automatically know which stores fit your personal style, which stops deserve more browsing time or which combinations make for an enjoyable day.

I offer personalized Salt Lake City vintage-shopping itineraries through my Buy Me a Coffee services page.

You can tell me:

What you want to find
Your style and size range
Your budget
How much time you have
Whether you have a car
Where you are staying
How far you are comfortable walking
Whether you need food, coffee or other neighborhood stops included

I will use my experience shopping and working in Utah’s vintage community to build a route around you, rather than handing you a generic list of popular stores.

Order a personalized Utah vintage-shopping itinerary

The goal is not to visit the highest possible number of stores. It is to spend your time in the places most likely to have something you will be excited to take home.

Happy Hunting!
XOXO
Kristen - Kissing Whiskey Vintage

Disclosure: This post contains my Lyft referral link. If you sign up or take an eligible ride through the link, I may receive a referral reward or account credit. Your discount, eligibility and ride terms are determined by Lyft. The Utah Vintage Guide is independently researched and curated by Kristen Wolfe.

A Walkable Salt Lake City Vintage Shopping Route