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Alaska Wild Berry Products (528 E. Pioneer Ave., 907/235-8858 or 800/280-2927, www.alaskawildberryproduct.com) specializes in Alaska-made wild berry jams, jellies, chocolates, and sauces, some of which are fashioned on the premises. The counter usually has free samples, but it’s hard to resist buying some before you leave.
Downtown near the movie theater, Nomar (104 E. Pioneer Ave., 907/235-8363 or 800/478-8364, www.nomaralaska.com) sells high-quality handmade clothing and outdoor gear. Some of its most popular items are specifically designed for commercial fishers, but Nomar also has warm and windproof outerwear, kids’ garb, hats, rain gear, purses, duffel bags, and more. Next door is Main Street Mercantile (907/235-9102), a beautifully restored 1936 building with gifts, home accessories, and Sweet Berries Café.
Three miles out on East End Road is Redden Marine (a.k.a. Kachemak Gear Shed, 907/235-8612 or 800/478-8612, www.kachemakgearshed.com), selling quality clothing and outerwear for anyone heading out on the water. It’s a great place to check out the commercial fishing supplies too. The back wall has a rather unusual souvenir from the Exxon Valdez spill.
Homer Bookstore (332 E. Pioneer Ave., 907/235-7496, www.homerbookstore.com) has all of Tom Bodett’s books, along with works of other local authors, a big Alaskana section, field guides, and lots more. (Tom Bodett is known to most Americans as the folksy “We’ll leave the light on for you” voice in the Motel 6 commercials, but he is also the author of several books of humor. Like fellow Homerite celebrity Jewel, Bodett no longer lives in Homer.)
Old Inlet Bookshop (3487 Main St., 907/235-7984, www.oldinletbookshop.com) is a packed used bookstore with a café in the back and lodging upstairs. This beautifully restored (and expanded) log cabin was originally part of a 1905 fox farm on Yukon Island.
Galleries
Homer has a statewide reputation as an arts center, and a few local showcases are must-sees on any Homer itinerary. The Homer Council on the Arts (907/235-4288, www.homerart.org) has a small gallery and collaborates with local art events. If you’re around on the first Friday of the month, don’t miss the aptly named First Friday, when new exhibitions open and the hors d’oeuvres come out.
A number of galleries are scattered around town, most notably Bunnell Street Arts Center (106 W. Bunnell Ave., 907/235-2662, www.bunnellstreetgallery.org). This nonprofit gallery is in the old Inlet Trading Post, built in 1937, and just up from Bishop’s Beach. Although small, Bunnell attracts nationally known artists with new exhibitions monthly.
One of Alaska’s oldest cooperative galleries, Ptarmigan Arts (471 E. Pioneer Ave., 907/235-5345, www.ptarmiganarts.com) has a diversity of artists, all of whom also work one day a month. Here you’ll find everything from handmade hats to ceramics, beaded jewelry, wildlife and landscape photos (including those of the author), and watercolors. Next door is Fireweed Gallery (907/235-3411, www.fireweedgallery.com), and Picture Alaska (907/235-2300 or 800/770-2300, www.picturealaska.com) is across the street. Art Shop Gallery (907/235-7076 or 800/478-7076, www.artshopgallery.com) is a block or so away.
Spit Shops
Gift shops, restaurants, art galleries, and other businesses are located in several clusters near the end of the Spit. Nearly all of these are open late May–early September, though a few places such as Coal Point Seafood remain open year-round. Art galleries on the Spit include:
- Sea Lion Gallery
907/235-3400
www.sealiongallery.com
- High Tide Arts
907/226-2600
www.leslieklaar.com
- Local Showcase
907/235-8415
www.local-showcase.com
- Homer Clay Works
907/235-6118
The most distinctive shop is Time Bandit (907/226-2722, www.timebandit.tv), with sweatshirts, hats, flags, books, and kid stuff emblazoned with the boat’s distinctive pirate emblem. If you’ve been living under a rock, the crab boat Time Bandit is a fixture on the popular Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch, and the crew have become minor celebrities wherever they go. Captains Andy and John Hillstrand make occasional appearances to sign autographs and pose for photos, and the boat is in the Homer harbor at various times throughout the year.
© Don Pitcher from Moon Alaska, 10th Edition
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