24 Sept 5th-Sept 11th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Retro Vibes 3G Vintage dials up the nostalgia on Grand Avenue. BY CHRIS COPLAN F or owner Audrey Gomez, even the name of 3G Vintage is meant to feel deliberately old. “Obviously, we no longer have 3G. We’re now on, like, 5G, so this idea that we’re old,” she says. “We’re a ’70s, ’80s and ’90s specialty store. I don’t carry anything unless it’s from (those decades). I do carry some items that are maybe replicated, which will be on T-shirts. But as far as the merchandise itself, it was actually either released or made during one of those three decades.” But the shop, located in the mixed-use Desert Sun Plaza on Grand Avenue, isn’t just about evoking nostalgia like so many other shops. For Gomez, it’s a very personal expression. “I’m from Safford, Arizona. I grew up in a Pentecostal home, which didn’t allow me the opportunity to branch out and explore a lot of things,” Gomez says. “When I was 19 or so, I dreamt about getting out of there so I can discover the world, and so that’s how I came to Phoenix.” Given her background, Gomez had to find inspiration elsewhere to fully dive into the world of vintage. “I took a trip down to Oklahoma City one time with a friend of mine and we were introduced to antique malls over there,” Gomez says. “The smell was, at that point, captivating for me. Antiques and vintage ... they have a particular smell to them. It was just super comforting in a way. ... That’s what got me excited about antiques — the feeling of comfort.” In fact, Gomez had tried to originally open some kind of vintage-leaning space in her hometown. But while the idea never happened, it did later inspire the larger spirit of 3G. “I knew at one point in my hometown, I wanted to open up a youth hangout spot for people to come and hang out and play games and get to know each other,” Gomez says. “I was looking for a comfortable safe space. And then with my collecting and buying, it just evolved to a place where I could share all of that and bring joy to people at the same time.” 3G officially opened in early December 2021. As much as it was a dream come true in many ways, the journey of 3G over the last few years has still been fraught with hard truths and harder lessons. “I think it was the surprise of opening the shop,” Gomez says. “You have this illusion when you open a store that you’re going to cut this big red ribbon and it’s going to be people waiting at your door and the balloons and there’s all this excitement and you’re going to have this great first day opening and you’ll make so, so much money. “And then you get there and you open and there’s no ribbons and there’s maybe 10 people there, like your family and your friends. And then you wait for that first customer and then your first customer is usually your family member, which is great. But it kind of takes away that whole feeling, and then it becomes surreal that nobody really knows about you. You still have to work to get your name out there.” To some extent, one of 3G’s biggest upsides is also among its key issues. Because while the Desert Sun Plaza may be packed with like-minded, locally owned shops, it’s not yet a more well- known quantity. “We’re at the back end of the plaza, so we have to put signage (on the road) and people still think it’s kind of a motel/ halfway house because it doesn’t give that retail kind of feel to it. 3G is a vintage shop in Phoenix specializing in pop culture trinkets and oddities. (Photo by Audrey Gomez) >> p 26 ▼ Arts & Culture
