One of Columbia’s oldest stores is returning to its Five Points roots
After several years away from Five Points, one of the oldest stores in the city is returning to its downtown roots.
Gibson’s gift shop is moving from Forest Acres back to Saluda Avenue this spring.
The 64-year-old shop, a haven of dainty delights, will reopen in its old home at 743 Saluda Ave., between the new Fall Line Bar & Grill (formerly Delaney’s) and Dakotas Boutique, on June 1.
You’ll still find the store at 3137 Forest Drive until Mother’s Day, when it will close to begin packing.
You might remember Gibson’s on Devine Street, where it lived for three years before making the move to Forest Drive in 2017.
Before that, it spent six decades on Saluda, where it first opened in 1955.
The store changed ownership a few times over the years but kept a reputation as a go-to place for unique jewelry, figurines, trinkets, cocktail napkins, soaps, candles, scarves, stationery and all manner of goodies.
When Ima Thibodeaux took ownership last year, she added her own flair to Gibson’s traditional character.
“I would call myself, I really think, a fairy in a woman’s body. It’s a really whimsical store. It has become very romantic,” she said.
Five Points was one of Thibodeaux’s earliest stomping grounds when she moved to Columbia from Athens, Greece, in 1987. As she made her home here, she made herself a regular at Gibson’s on Saluda.
She remembers buying her first Crabtree & Evelyn lotion there in the ’80s; Gibson’s still sells the brand.
The store’s move is sentimental for Thibodeaux — “We’re taking it home,” she said.
It’s a practical move, too. In the new store, Gibson’s will have more space to display products, and Thibodeaux hopes to draw much more foot traffic.
Five Points gains Gibson’s at about the same time it’s losing another longtime arts and gifts store, Portfolio Art Gallery. Judith Roberts’ 39-year-old Saluda Avenue gallery will close at the end of February.
This story was originally published February 19, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
