City Feed and Supply offers essential items that urban JP dwellers need just like the Feed and Supply stores do in rural areas. But instead of hay or sacks of cow food, City Feed and Supply has coffee, sandwiches, pastries, groceries, magazines, candles and toilet paper and many, many other things crammed into this little space on Boylston Street. Fair Trade coffee is to JP as --what?-- is to Podunk, Kansas.
Soon City Feed and Supply plans to expand to Centre Street and offer essential materials to even more of JP.

A High-End Designer Consignment shop - This Shop offers you designer clothes, jewelry, and handbags that will fit your budget. Everything is unique and you will be complimented on everything you buy at this chic "lil" pink shop. That's a gaurantee!! Hours: Tue - Fri 12-6, Sat 11-4 (closed Sundays and Mondays But special requests are acceptable to either stay open later or to open on days the stores are closed)

Boomerangs is the re-sale store run by the AIDS Action Committee. You can find clothing, furniture, home goods, CDS, movies, and lots of other stuff all gently used and available "new to you." The stock changes all the time, so you need to stop in often. The store windows on Centre Street change often too - and are really public art pieces more than retail tools. They cleverly feature items on sale but in unusual tableaus. Proceeds from the store support the work of the AIDS Action Committee. You can make donations of goods around at the back of the store - but please only during the set hours (otherwise you are subject to a fine for illegal dumping). Donations are also taken at the Boomerangs Donation Center at the Brewery Complex. And they will come and pick-up furniture -- call to discuss details.

TIPS FOR THE BOOMERANGS NOVICE:

• To find the truly fabulous deals, you need to scour the racks on a regular basis (at least once a week).
• Boomerangs staffers showcase seasonal goods--ranging from Halloween trinkets to Christmas snow globes--located at a table in the front of the store.
• The die-hard Boomerangs junkie knows that the shop also has brand-new clothing from top-tier shops like Brooks Brothers and Filene's Basement. The only catch? Staffers mark the collar with a black marker to prevent returns to the original location.
• Common brands found at Boomerangs include Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole and even Armani.
• Boomerangs has a strict "no returns" policy. So, don't even try.
• The store offers daily specials on clothing marked with a color-coded tag. So, if a specific shirt you like has a red tag, wait until it's "red tag day" to get additional savings.
• The staff is generally very knowledgeable so if you're looking for a hidden gem buried within the racks of clothing, they're always willing to help out.
• Centre Street regulars have come to expect funny, usually elaborate, window displays (their recent "Circus Freaks" sideshow-themed window, for example, is stunning) that creatively uses goods found within the store.
• Interested in purchasing items showcased in their elaborate window displays? Boomerangs now auctions of the goods in a raffle at the front desk.
• The staff's taste in music is impeccable--with indie-rock gems like Guided By Voice's "Bee Thousand" and Matador lo-fi classics like Yo La Tengo--seranading customers as they browse the racks.

UPDATE: A few months after this local music store opened, it closed its doors. The space at 668 Centre Street is now for rent. Mud Dog Media Company, a new music store in Jamaica Plain, opened in April 2008 at the former CD Spins storefront at 668 Centre St. Mud Dog is a regional chain based in Wakefield, MA. In addition to music, the store will sell clothing and feature a full skateboarding supply shop.

Slotted to open Monday, Aug. 11 2008. City Feed and Supply, the popular local convenience store and café, is taking over the former Videosmith storefront on Centre Street as a second location. This will be a much larger second site for the company (with their first location on Boylston Street). This Centre Street location (in the 3,000-square foot space on the corner of Seaverns Ave.) includes tables for enjoying a sandwich and plenty of windows for people watching. City Feed targets the "Ped Set" or the pedestrian traffic strolling up and down Centre Street. Their business is focused on locally grwon and organic and fair trade foods with an emphasis on vegetarian items like tofurkey. They are, admittedly, not a place to shop for everything, though they are a food store in addition to being a cafe.

Gadgets is a great LITTLE shop. It is stuffed to the gills with everything you need for a well-appointed kitchen. It has great items for gift giving as well. Serious foodies can come in for the finest cookware and those who just need a new dish towel will be happy too. The staff consistently get top honors for being helpful and friendly in the "Best Of" polls. This shop never lets you down, although finding things amongst all the thousands of items can be challenging - if you want something specific it's best to just ask. But the most fun thing at Gadgets is just looking around at all the amazing stuff that is for sale here. You can never be disappointed.

Harvest is a cooperative market - so you can become a member and get back some of the money you spend. But you have to pitch in a couple times a year, stocking or providing other services. But you don't have to be a member to shop here. Emphasis tends to be on organic, eco-friendly items - this isn't Stop n Shop after all. There is a great bulk food section as well as a wine shop (go back to the left and up the stairs) which also where the cheese case is! Recycle your used portable rechargeable batteries and old cell phones. Rechargeable batteries are commonly found in cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras, and remote control toys. This location is a Call2Recycle™ drop-off site.

Hatched is a small boutique specializing in the finest organic fiber clothing, eco-friendly toys and cloth diapering supplies.

UPDATE: Petal & Leaf moved to its new location at 48 South Street. The new spot is smaller but the compact space is warm and the selection and staff make this the go-to-place in Jamaica Plain for fresh flowers and arrangements. Petal & Leaf is a full-service florist and it's got a great mural of a lush garden on the side of the building to entice you with what you can find inside. Consistently in the running for "Best of JP" in multiple categories (friendliest business, service, mural) you will never go wrong by going into Petal & Leaf and asking for help in selecting the perfect flora for whatever occasion you have in mind.

A newly opened fun and funky shop on JP's bustling Centre Street. Specializing in stylish hats, Bostonians can find everything here from fedoras to more trendy hatwear. They have all the accessories to go with your new chapeau: including gloves, scarfs, jewelry and more. There are some fantastic t-shirts on offer. But perhaps, the most fantastic thing, is the custom Boston Red Sox hat. Stop by to pick up your plaid hat with the trademark B - this is the only place in all of Red Sox Nation you can get one.