For Knoxville collegiettes™ getting your Urban Outfitters fix means either shopping online or making the three hour drive to Nashville or Atlanta to hit up the store. But this October, Urban brought the store to us.
Philidelphia Urban Outfitters store manager Meaghan Creamer co-managed the Store on Tour and traveled to all four of the Southeast locations. “We’re visiting college campuses that don’t have an Urban Outfitters,” said Creamer. “Instead of driving hours to us, we’re coming to you.” And we definitely appreciated it!
Urban’s Store on Tour premiered in Columbia, SC on Thursday October 6. From there, the two refurbished shipping containers traveled to Tallahassee, FL, Athens, GA, and finally concluded in Knoxville, TN.
Meaghan and her Colorado based co-manager accompanied the “nomadic store” through its whole journey. The other staff members were Urban employees recruited from near-by locations. The Knoxville store was staffed mostly with employees from Nashville.
The Store on Tour partnered with Dockers Alph(a) Khaki, Dry Soda, and Tortoise and Blonde to create a full mobile shopping experience. “How to Deal” blogger Bailey Hudson accompanied me to the Republic Parking Lot on W Church Ave in Downtown Knoxville to explore the visiting store.
Accompanying the unfolded Urban shipping containers was a booth displaying Tortoise and Blonde eyewear and a truck offering samples and sales of Dry Soda. Tortoise and Blonde is a family owned, indie eyewear brand based online. They feature glasses starting at just $97 each. Their fashionable frames and affordable prices are a dream come true for prescription wearers.
Dry Soda was definitely a new sensation for my taste buds. Based in Seattle, Dry Soda says they have “re-imagined what soda can be: better tasting and better for you.” Each flavor is made with only four ingredients and the 12-ounce bottles range from 45 to 70 calories with just 11 to 19 grams of sugar. I taste tested the Blood Orange and purchased a bottle of the Lavender. Bailey went with a sample of Rhubarb and drank a bottle of the Juniper Berry. Their other unique flavors include Vanilla Bean, Cucumber, Wild Lime and Lemongrass. Check your local grocery stores, it’s definitely worth a taste.
A bottle of healthy soda, an amazing new Silence + Noise top, and an cute new book titled “I Hate Everything” by Matthew DiBenedetti later, I’d say an Urban Outfitters is definitely what Knoxville needs… or at least more visits on tour.
The staff was really excited about the success of the Store on Tour, and Knoxville definitely appreciated the visit. Meaghan said there were no definite plans for a second tour, but she hopes it’s in the future, and so do we!