Ben Vandouris finds a lot of his stock by talking to people at the post office. "I've met random people at the post office. Talk to them for two seconds, and then all of a sudden, like I have their info, and they invite me over to their house to look through their stuff and buy a bunch of whatever," he told The News Tribune. Those piles of estate-sale and private-seller clothing now hang at 116 S. Meridian. That's where Vandouris, 24, opened Grandpas Garments on Sept. 19, in the alley of Wicked Pie.

Next door, at 118 S. Meridian, a comic shop is getting ready to open. Shane Ziemer has run Atomic Comics in Tacoma for 22 years. He lives in Puyallup and says he "has been dying to put one there." His Puyallup store opens during BOO-allup on Oct. 31.

Both shops fill a gap their owners have watched in their own hometown for years. They sit side by side on one block of South Meridian, and Halloween afternoon is when the second of them opens.

Two doors on the 100 block of South Meridian

Here is what has opened, or is about to, along downtown's main street this year.

Two of these three shops are on the same short stretch south of Main. Both are run by owners with deep Puyallup roots, and neither is a franchise or a regional chain trying out a new market.

What downtown hadn't had

Ziemer gives a clear number for how long the town went without his kind of store. "Puyallup hasn't had a comic book shop in 15 years," he told The News Tribune. "You need a right spot, the right place. Finally, everything fell together." He said the Puyallup location has been almost a decade in the making. In his announcement video, he described the new store as having "more graphic novels here, more toys, more merchandise, more back issues, more wall books." He also pointed out that comic readers in the area will now have two Atomic Comics locations to choose from.

Vandouris claims a gap of his own. Some commenters have told him Grandpas Garments isn't Puyallup's first vintage store, and he answers by being precise about what he sells. "So there's a million other antique stores and like consignment and stuff like that. This is strictly vintage clothing, and as far as I've been around Puyallup and been into clothes, I have not seen another strictly vintage clothing store pop up."

He rarely stocks his shop from thrift stores. By his account, 99% of the vintage clothing he buys doesn't come from them; most of it comes from estate sales or from people selling online, and he prefers buying in big piles. If you walk in, expect:

• A lot of early-2000s womenswear, including jackets, pants and T-shirts
• Workwear with a classic, nostalgic Americana look
• Men's jackets, crewnecks, T-shirts and jeans, with vintage hats farther back in the store
• A kids' clothing section, which he says is on the way

The decor isn't for sale, but it's all vintage too. That includes a 1900s display case that doubles as the checkout counter. Vandouris says he drove 2 miles down a dirt road in Yelm to buy it.

Owners who grew up nearby

Both owners have spent years in this town. Vandouris started collecting and selling vintage clothes in 2019, when he was a student at Puyallup High School. He got the Meridian space in early August, bought from a friend who owns the building, and had the store open about a month and a half later. Before the doors opened, a TikTok video of the early setup had passed 46,000 views. He says people have told him they plan to line up for the grand opening, and others have reached out to sell him clothing.

Ziemer's Tacoma store at 4020 S. Steele St. has been open for 22 years. The Puyallup store is the one he wanted closer to home.

Owners like these make a downtown block worth a walk. A store stocked through post-office conversations, or one a nearby resident spent a decade lining up, carries things a mall store won't. That's the reason Vandouris gave for loving vintage clothes in the first place: "You can't just go get it in the mall or whatever if you wanted to."

North Meridian traded one storefront for another

Up the street, the 108 address on North Meridian has seen its own changes this year. The Candle Bar closed its physical storefront at 108B N. Meridian on Jan. 24. It once offered custom candle-making with 120 scents to choose from, and in its closing announcement the business said it was moving online, with online ordering returning soon alongside pop-ups, custom orders and mobile candle-making.

In May, Rainier Valley Coffee soft-opened a café at 108 N. Meridian, and its opening-day post listed hours of 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the time, the owner said the company's drive-through at 11016 Valley Ave. E. would close in July once the downtown café was running. We haven't confirmed the current hours or the drive-through's status since then, so check the café's own channels before planning a morning around it.

A block west, Radnor's Burgers & Beignets runs a food trailer at Firemind Brewing, 211 W. Stewart Ave. It serves smash burgers, fries, grilled cheese, hot dogs and beignets with caramel sauce.

BOO-allup is opening day

Atomic Comics chose the downtown Halloween event for its opening, so Oct. 31 is when the second new South Meridian shop opens, next door to Grandpas Garments. Ziemer says the store will give away free comics during the event and hold its grand opening afterward.

Puyallup Main Street Association runs BOO-allup, which this year falls on Saturday, Oct. 31. It starts at 3 p.m., but published end times differ. The association's own page lists 3 to 5 p.m., while the City's calendar and Page & Pine Bookshop's listing both run to 6 p.m. Page & Pine has confirmed it is participating and invites visitors to come in costume. To be safe, plan on 3 to 5 p.m.

The rest of the downtown calendar through Dec. 5

BOO-allup falls in the middle of a busy stretch for downtown. Here are the dates already published:

• Saturday, Oct. 10, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The last Saturday of the 2026 Puyallup Farmers Market at Pioneer Park and the Pavilion, closing a 25-Saturday season that began April 18.
• Saturday, Oct. 10, 5 to 7 p.m. Gently Used Book Exchange Night at Page & Pine, with a book swap and a discount for participants.
• Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Page & Pine's adult book club, featuring local author Caitlin Moss.
• Saturday, Oct. 31, from 3 p.m. BOO-allup, plus the Atomic Comics opening at 118 S. Meridian.
• Saturday, Nov. 14, 5 to 8 p.m. Holiday Shopping Night at Page & Pine, with cider, treats and raffles.
• Saturday, Nov. 14, 6 to 10 p.m. Arts Downtown's Autumn Arts Celebration at Pioneer Park Pavilion, with dinner, wine, music and an art auction.
• Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 7 p.m. The Santa Parade downtown.
• Saturday, Dec. 5, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Pioneer Park, which the City describes as the finale after the parade and the Holiday Night Market.

Two nights stand out. On Oct. 10, the market's final morning and the book exchange fall on the same day, so you can spend morning and evening downtown. On Nov. 14, Page & Pine's shopping night ends at 8 p.m., while the Autumn Arts Celebration at the Pavilion starts at 6 and runs until 10.

A walk to South Meridian is part of what makes a home near downtown Puyallup what it is. When it's time to sell, Kimber Lee Real Estate builds that walk into the listing with photos, video and the neighborhood story buyers can't get from a spec sheet. Schedule your complimentary consultation, and we'll show you how we'd tell your home's story.