3G Vintage on Grand Avenue dials up the nostalgia

For 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. So it's definitely been a struggle for me to keep my door open," Gomez says

But there's also other factors at play here, too.

"Right now, because it's summer and then with inflation, it has caught us in a little bit of a tight squeeze," Gomez says. "But every day we work hard to try and make the best of it, and if we can make it to the first of every month, I'm pretty excited."

Gomez and 3G aren't just about offering up old goodies and faves, but a specific experience for its shoppers.

"When you come in, you get that dose of serotonin from maybe an item that I have there that brings you back to your childhood," Gomez says.

As an extension of that, Gomez really wants to engage hardcore collectors and those folks who treat shopping like a proper experience.

"It's the hunt; we believe in collecting, too. We knew that we couldn't afford to buy the set or whatever came out, we could only afford one at a time," Gomez says. "So we would save up and we would get that item and be so stoked about it. Whereas now they're growing up and it's like, 'Oh, I could buy the entire set for 50 bucks and just be over and done with it.' No, there's no satisfaction."

It's that very sense of satisfaction that's essential to all that Gomez does with 3G.

"I did an interview not too long ago, and the best way I can describe the store is when we were in probably the fifth or sixth grade, we were told to bring things from our house that we loved or identified with to put in a time capsule," Gomez says. "And this time capsule, we were going to bury it in the earth somewhere for someone to discover this magical thing of the past. That's pretty much what my story is. It's a collection of things I loved and did growing up put into this one bedroom-sized room."

While things like old books and vintage cameras are centerpieces at 3G, there's also a veritable cornucopia of vintage toys, '90s TV merchandise, cassette singles and other odds and ends. As Gomez mentions earlier, it's about an extension of her own personal faves and how others might follow suit.

"I don't consider myself a trendy person. I don't follow trends," Gomez says. "I tell people when they come into my shop that everything in there I can either give you a story about or I can speak about it. I went to every vintage store in the metropolitan area and I know that they don't have it, so I must have it."

As such, a few specialty collections have emerged that have helped define 3G's outlook and distinguish it from the competition.

"I even have a 200-piece 8-track collection in there," Gomez says. "As far as vintage stores, I have probably the best assortment of 8-tracks."



Gomez noted that 3G might not have everything — vintage clothes, for instance, are relegated to just one rack. And the store doesn't carry much like Pokemon or anime given Gomez's own personal blind spots. But the shop is always willing to see what someone else might want sell off.

But given the larger issues 3G is facing, not even a really packed collection of cassingles alone can save the day. So Gomez is having to get creative in carving out a place for 3G.

"And then with the slow trend that's coming for the summer, I've thought about collaborating with people who are specifically involved in (games and Pokemon) just to bring them into the store," Gomez says. "But they would have to be present in the store in order to speak on it. I'm not going to just sell it just to sell it."

Gomez also mentioned "leaning into...featuring historic times in the shop," mentioning some stuff about the early '90s scandal around figure skater Tonya Harding. But it also means collaborations with stores like Glendale's Cactus VHS.

"We're doing a VHS walk, and those are going to be monthly," Gomez says. "It's where a bunch of people come and bring their VHS tapes and they're open to trade, barter and sell. We've done two of them so far and they've actually been really successful. So that's probably going to continue. We're probably going to alternate rotations, so when the fall hits, I'll be having mine in the outdoors whereas (Cactus events) are indoors."

Similarly, Gomez also wants to tap into the community directly to foster the spirit of hunting and trading for great finds.

"We had a trade and swap event [on a recent Sunday]. I want that to continue, depending on how that goes," said Gomez. "There are a lot of people who are sitting on a lot of clothes and things, and maybe they don't have a lot of money and they still want to buy something or get something new. So I'm trying to get small businesses to come together and offer that to them. Maybe some of their products that they haven't been able to move through the summer or the year that they could discount or maybe even trade with. That's going to be a nice base."



Despite the downsides and continued challenges, Gomez says that 3G's efforts have been successful already. It's helped create the thing that matters even more than, for instance, "Saved by the Bell" wall art.

"I definitely feel like I've created a little community within that little area," she says. "I do have my repeat customers that try and come in maybe once a month, and sometimes I'll see them every First Friday. And that's always fun because I always try and bring in something new that they haven't seen to keep things interesting. But I also get people who are, again, just venturing out and trying to find new places to discover. And Grand Avenue is a little hidden treasure trove that a lot of people don't know about yet."

Because, sure, you don't always need a Muggsy Bogues trading card or vintage adult magazine. But we all could use a reminder that getting old, and facing a myriad of life's challenges, can be made easier by welcoming and celebrating our past and the bonds its forged among all fans/devotees.

"I just watched 'Forrest Gump' the other day again," Gomez says. "And you know, life really is like a box of chocolates. You can go into a shop and you really never know what you're going to get until you walk in. There might be a thing that actually triggers something for you. Like, 'Why do I want to buy this?' And then you're sitting at home and you're skimming through pictures with your mom and you see this thing there and you're like, 'I should have bought that because that's what I had as a kid.'"

3G Vintage is located at 1325 Grand Avenue/1344 West McKinley Street #101. For hours and other information, check out the store's Yelp listing.