One thing to understand about Colonial Williamsburg is the naming of the buildings is not by…read morecoincidence. John Greenhow was a merchant that operated a store on Duke of Gloucester during colonial days. The history of the man is as important to me as the current day store which I do enjoy browsing. John Greenhow was born in England 1724. He has been described as enterprising for the day, a real go getter. He operated a three man eight ton Schooner named "The Robert" along the James River from Virginia to Philadelphia carrying butter, pork, peas and lard to Pennsylvania. His return trips to the Old Dominion brought back coffee, chocolate, flour, bread, skillets, soap and even furniture. Williamsburg was not his only store as he operated a second location in Richmond. Mr. Greenhow passed in 1787 and is buried close to his mercantile at Bruton Parish Church. His stone is visible to this day. The present day store instills some of the old past of products like soap and housewares among lots of other items that may, or may not have been carried in the shop like home decor, clothing and even wine that seemed logical for the colonial time. Visitors can also purchase, or rent period wear. I have shopped at this store dozens of times in the past 30 years. I seem to always find something for purchase. The last time it was a few bottles of Williamsburg Winery Wine. Other occasions it's been soap which is fantastic. During Summer months when mobbed it can be a tad crowded to navigate. Staff typically is not in the floor to assist, but is more than willing to help when asked. It's no fault of their own, it's CW's staffing needs adjusted during the height of tourism. The clerks working the store are super friendly and knowledgeable about their goods and the history of Greenhow. It's fun to throw them a question, or two about the old day store. I would recommend a visit to The Greenhow store when strolling down DOG.

I'm not a shopping person and sadly I've become not much of a CW person but if you're in CW and if…read moreyou're going to shop, the Greenhow Store is not a bad place to do it. My Yelp brother JD did a great job covering the history of the man who's name is on the building. I have nothing to add other than the current store is not one of the original 88 CW buildings but it was built on the site of the original and on land that Mr. Greenhow owned. Back in the day you could easily see the yard over at Bruton Parish but FWIW this is the final resting place for Mr. Greenhow: makinghistorynow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/mr-greenhows-tomb-bruton-parish.png Usually I'm in here because I've got people in my family who love the soap balls that they sell here (maybe they have them in other stores but usually I find the bars everywhere - not the balls), the vanilla beans, the musket balls and a few other odds and sods. The other reason I like to shop here is because of the one "sales interpreter" who normally works here. When you walk in he's usually at the register on the left side. He's a taller older guy who wears small round wire rimmed glasses. He's the one guy in the store who usually will engage you in sort of a quasi-in character demeanor. He's hysterical and I always enjoy seeing him and I remind him of that whenever I'm there. While this store is normally very crowded on my most recent visit we walked in to find we had the whole place to ourselves. Three employees in there with just us. After a few minutes another couple came in but that's how dead it was on New Year's Day. One brief negative note regarding that visit. While there were three sales interpreters there. Cluelessly, there was also a supervisor/manager present who kept having a little meeting with the group over in the one corner out front even though they could see that I was at the register ready to go. Experiences like that are the types of reasons people say "Never Again" to CW. It's small but it also shows you a small spot of where management's focus truly is at. That singular visit aside, normally it's a decent experience here and it's always worth a visit to see what they have when on DOG Street.

We shopped here four times during our week-long visit. Each person knew all the products so…read moreexpertly! I was over-the-moon impressed. I am very very very hard to be over-the-moon impressed!

When taking a stroll down DoG street don't miss this shop. Oh, where are my manners...DOG street is…read morean acronym for Duke of Gloucester. I personally have found it to be one of the most unique shopping experiences in CW. So what's in the store, well a little bit of everything. However, think of a Nordstrom of the 18th Century it's high end quality goods and you have the idea. Leather luggage, pewter, jewelry, cuff links, wine, beer, baskets, dishes, mugs, hats and there is more. This is the hard to find unique item gift store of the CW. Some items are within a price range that makes it difficult to justify a purchase. However, the quality is great! Many items I would consider affordable lower price point and still very nice. The store presents beautifully and the two staff members on the day of my visit were extremely helpful and ready to answer questions. This is a store that usually has a lot of foot traffic and the day I visited was no exception. One of my favorite aspects of the store has to be the long counter and next would be it's wonderful front window with dishes and other items displayed. When striking up a conversation with the older male staff member about the history of the building the place got much more interesting. It is one of the 88 original structures in CW. That alone made it intriguing to me because I believe there are more originals off DOG street than on, but could be wrong. The Prentis shop holds the distinction of being the longest continual running commercial brick building in the CW. That is a bold statement folks because the building is early 1700's. To give how old the building perspective George Washington was 7 years old when it was completed. It's built like a fortress with four layers of brick on the bottom half of the walls and three up to the rafters Most of the bones of the original structure are present. The original wood floor was replaced due to a modification in the 1920's when it service as a tire and parts store of all things. Cool shop, cool history, cool people working here. Don't pass on it.

This is a great little shopped tucked in the beautiful historic Colonial Williamsburg, VA area…read more It's a small, cozy and adorable small shop with a big heart and helping hands and a FREE Museum too!! The staff were very friendly, welcoming and helpful! I had the pleasure of unexpectedly meeting and speaking with John Fogarty, Burton Parish Church Comptroller, who readily gave me some insight on some of the items displayed in the museum and made me excited to visit their Church too. You are sure to find something unique in this store and the profits are used to do great work for communities. YES!!! I do recommend them to my family, friends, friends or friends and, NOW, the World too!!

While we have been to Bruton Parish church many times, (it's my favorite thing on DOG Street by…read morefar) currently the church is closed for tourist visitation due to the installation of their new organ. With that in mind I figured I would finally make the big one block walk down to the gift shop to see what they've got shakin'. The scene would best be described as part hospital gift shop meets a Hallmark store for the 70 and over crowd. So many little trinkets and nick-knacks everywhere. Also noteworthy is that while the shop has an excellent mission, the prices here are very steep. Deals you will not find and some of the clothing that they're selling has never been seen in public since the Golden Girls was cancelled. Dorthy Zbornak would have had a field day in here. In the back of the building is a small chapel which is very respectfully laid out even if it was odd walking by tables of "discounted" Christmas things right by the entrance. I bought my obligatory Bruton Parish fridge magnet ($7!) and had a nice talk with the one volunteer at the register about the current organ project and a few rumored things happening in the near future. She was really a great ambassador for their brand and truly showed that this is a living-breathing-vibrant Episcopal church. I'm not really a retail person so I doubt I'll be back but if you are into trinkets or curiosities then this place might be for you and at the least it's worth the short trip away from the CW buildings on DOG Street.

I received a gift card for Seasons, and I had so much fun shopping there! The shop is filled with…read morehome decor, mostly with a floral theme. They also are a florist with beautiful arrangements as well as fresh flowers to purchase. The staff are polite, friendly, and helpful. Prices are on the high side, but they also offer some modestly priced items too. They also sell a variety of Nest products in various scents, including my favorite--grapefruit! Take your time looking around. While it's not a huge shop, you will want to admire all they have to offer. Parking is free in their own lot.

Best gift shop in town --wonderful florist in the entire area --very helpful--and kind ---The best…read more---

Quaint little shop with a large selection of postcards and other template letters (e.g. Thank You,…read moreBirthday, Get Well, Inspiration, et cetera letters) as well as other small antiques and gifts. Naturally most of their cards are based on Williamsburg and W&M so it is a great place to pick something up when visiting to send back to family and friends. Only small gripe is that the cards are somewhat on the expensive side , but definitely very unique.

This is a small shop but loaded with goodies and an extremely nice and large selection of some…read moregorgeous hand-painted wooden rare Santa statues. EXPENSIVE. But beautiful, I'm going to have to save up! Staff was friendly. It's worth a stop in if you enjoy shopping for Christmas ornaments... they had some lovely things like a bunch of beautiful nesting dolls as well.

This is an adventure in Christmas decor. The figurines, pins & patches are something to see. They…read morehave name brand figurines, Jim Short for example, but a little pricey. The clerks were very helpful. Didn't purchase anything this time but certainly will visit on our next time in Williamsburg.

This very very small restaurant that looks interesting. It's very quaint. It's not family friendly…read more Service was great and the place was nicely decorated. I would say it's for more older adults wanting a very quiet lunch. Great place to have tea and a dessert. Selection of food...well..lunch menu is small. Not much to choose from so I would say it's really just fair. I was disappointed in the quiche and you don't get any choices. There's so many quiches to make these days. We only had one choice that was a big disappointment and it tasted just OK if it had a better menu or a little bit bigger menu that expanded to have some real choices we might be back but I don't think so that's why the three stars is for the fact that it's a lovely place to have a very nice cup of tea....

We enjoyed lunch at The Gathering Place at The Mole Hole today, and it was delicious! The cafe is…read morehoused within The Mole Hole boutique, which sells gifts, decor items, jewelry, purses, and ladies clothing. Today's review really is about The Gathering Place cafe, which is why we went to The Mole Hole. It's absolutely lovely. They have about 4 to 5 tables that could accommodate 4 people. Plus they had a cute table for two. The tables are elegantly decorated with linen floral napkins on pretty placemats. See photos. The food is light fare, but with ample portions. We started with iced teas (they also offer beers, wine, and champagne). For entrees, we ordered the spinach salad with salmon and pecans as well as the ham and spinach quiche with the southern pea salad. The pea salad contained peas, corn, pimento, and shredded cheddar cheese -- quite unique and very good. My husband can't stop raving about it. We really enjoyed our meals. All food is made in house. See photos. Service is prompt and friendly. You pay at the final checkout up front so you can pay for food and any shop purchases together. Bring cash for your tip, as their receipts don't include a line for a gratuity since they are primarily a shop. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday for lunch until 3 p.m.

Huge selection. Great gift ideas and souvenirs to bring back home for family and friends…read more Patriotic themed! Pleasant staff and service!

(I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for a "review" to come back to this place.)…read more Sadly, the song remains the same here at Revolutions. If you come to the CW Visitors Center more than likely you're walking in the main entrance door from the parking lot and this place is what you first encounter. Overall the store (it's not really one store as it's more like two or three depending on how you want to count things but technically Revolutions is the one on the left side when you walk in) is indeed massive. Lots of stuff everywhere. On the left side it's a lot of things like stuffed animals (anyone for a stuffed walrus in a CW shirt?), wine/beer, some snacks, lots of CW branded clothing along with a ton of reproduction items and a lot of Chinese plastic junk. The right side is technically the bookstore and it's loaded down with a mountain of titles but also has a Christmas section and even sells things like bird feeders. The two overriding issues are that you can still find too many things here the same as you can find at the shops on DOG Street. While that might sour you the other kicker is of course the pricing. The pricing is very much theme park-esque in terms of how whack some of this stuff can be particularly the apparel sections. The t-shirts and sweat shirts are priced in a way that could make Bob Iger at Disney blush. Speaking prior about bird feeders. The one things CW had a bit more of last time was a clearance section on the book store side. Small as it was for whatever reason the lovely wife insisted upon picking up a double bird feeder for her mother for Christmas which at the time was seven months away. Le Sigh... While I wanted to protest a quick check of The Interwebs said that the thing usually retails for well over a hundred dollars and with the clearance pricing that day it could be ours for around fifty bucks (Oh, Boy - Spoil Me!). So we bought it. It was the first thing we had ever bought at Revolutions in probably a dozen visits. Great place to shop if you're one of those people who likes "stuff" or if you've got more money than God to piss away on BS that likely you'll never use but personally I don't see the appeal which is why we usually just cut thru the Visitors Center and then go right out the back door to hit the trail to the Historic Area.