Shop Local: South End Holiday Gift Guide

Here's a taste of what great gifts you can buy this holiday season right here in your own neighborhood.

South End shoppers, your guide to finding unique, locally made or sold gifts this holiday season is here.  All items in the above photo gallery can be purchased right here in the South End, saving you time and hassle from leaving the neighborhood to shop for your friends and family, and supporting local businesses at the same time. Not-so-coincidentally, Wednesday Dec. 12 is the 4th Annual South End Holiday Shopping Night from 4-8 p.m. Shop at any of the participating businesses you will get a coupon for $10 off a participating restaurant, and everytime you dine at one of those restaurants, you get a coupon for 10 percent off at participating stores. You can see the full list here. If you have any other local gift ideas, please upload a …

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Small Business Saturday in the South End

Local businesses are offering special deals this weekend and American Express is offering $25 to local shoppers.

This weekend, skip the chain stores and shop local. Several South End shops are offering special deals, and American Express is giving shoppers a $25 credit for using their registered Amex card at qualifying small business today. Read the fine print and register your card here.  Skoah: Deals abound at this Tremont St. skin-care boutique. Guests get $10 off any individual product with a regular price of $50 or more and the shop is introducing "skin gym memberships," which entitle any customer to a free body wash with the purchase of a membership or five or more gift cards. Look out for holiday products and gift packages, which are also launching this weekend. Diseño Boston: Enjoy 20% off all in-stock purchases for three full days (Friday-…

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Buttery Expansions Moving Forward

Popular cafe is opening two new locations, one just next door.

The South End Buttery, a corner coffee shop and restaurant with a strong neighborhood following, is moving forward with expansion plans including new locations on Clarendon Street and next door on Shawmut Avenue. As Patch reported in August, Buttery owner Richard Gordon has signed a lease at 37 Clarendon Street and will be opening a second branch of his famed café there this fall. The new location will sell baked goods and sandwiches for take-out along with coffees and teas. It will also house a small market with Buttery retail products available for purchase. But the café’s expansion doesn’t stop there. The Buttery will also be taking over the now-vacant retail space next door to its Shawmut Avenue location, opening up valuable kitchen …

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A Chat With Ron Sarni, Co-Owner of The Grilled Cheese Nation Food Truck

The native Melrosian talks about how Boston’s burgeoning food truck movement is preparing to get through the coldest months of the year.

Ron Sarni, who grew up in Melrose, owns the Grilled Cheese Nation food trucks with his business partner, Todd Saunders. Sarni, 57, also founded the Boston Area Food Truck Association and leases food trucks to entrepreneurs through his other enterprise, Food Truck Nation. Sarni spoke with Patch about bringing smoked Gouda and melted Brie sandwiches to the streets of Boston, how he plans to prepare “Cheese Force One” and “Minnie” for use in cold weather and where a food truck might set up shop in the suburbs. Patch: Over the past year, you’ve helped persuade Boston’s elected officials that food trucks would benefit the city. Were there any advantages to Boston embracing food trucks much later than New York, Los Angeles or Portland, OR did?  …

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After First Year, Wild Indigo Boutique Going Strong

Stylish South End shop is becoming well-known throughout the region.

If only all beginnings were this good: a year after opening her first business in Wild Indigo Boutique, Christina Murphy is drawing customers from all over New England and becoming known for her impeccable styling and eye for artistic talent. Murphy celebrated Wild Indigo’s one-year anniversary earlier this month and is thanking her customers with a special 50% off sale on select gift items in her Dartmouth Street shop. But what Murphy has proven over the past year is that her store isn’t just about gifts. She’s expanded her clothing selection and now offers personal styling advice for women from Boston and beyond. Murphy now reserves Monday and Tuesdays for one-on-one styling appointments after she began receiving calls from customers …

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Sault Moves in on Tremont Street

Owner Philip Saul has packed the small space with an eclectic mix of clothing, home decor and gifts.

Nodding to the classic New England-prep sensibility—chinos, cable-knit sweaters, sailing, the Kennedys—SAULT New England packs a tightly edited mix of men’s apparel, home décor, stationery, and quirky gifts into its 600-square-foot space on Tremont Street. After about a year of planning, owner Philip Saul opened SAULT’s doors on September 8. Inside, items ranging from button-down shirts to leather bags to homemade terrariums fill an earthy but clean space that highlights Saul’s interests in nature, art, and, most obviously, style. “It’s about engaging the senses with the music, the scent, the feel of the space,” Saul said in a recent interview. “I’m all about the brick and mortar, the actual physical store, the shopping experience.” Saul, …

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Patch Passport

Discover Treasures at Motley and Gifted

These local shops cater to a diverse crowd.

In recent years the South End has become known for its outstanding restaurants, bakeries and cafes. Yet the neighborhood is far from being a destination for foodies only. Dotted throughout the area lie distinct stores that help the South End keep its artsy, creative feel. Two such retailers are Motley and Gifted. A purple flag with Motley’s logo on it alerts passersby to the shop, which is on the basement level of a brownstone. Once inside, the store seems smaller than it might appear to be on the street, but the space is utilized well, packing a lot of items in without making customers feel cramped.  In 2004, co-owner Jason Chehade was working as a buyer in the retail industry with no immediate plans to open his own store when he learned …

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