On The Road Again: Souvenir City

Souvenir City, Gulf Shores, Ala.

ABOVE: The Souvenir City kitchen produces a prodigious amount of homemade fudge every day.

TOP PHOTO: The giant shark at the entrance of Souvenir City is an iconic landmark in Gulf Shores, enticing “hundreds upon hundreds” of shutterbugs to capture their moment with the beast every day.

(All photos courtesy of Souvenir City, except the shark photo, which is courtesy of Lynn Jordan)

By RAY BALOGH | The Municipal

Embarking on this roadside adventure begins with walking into the mouth of a 70-foot-long shark.

The kitschy gimmick marks the entrance to Souvenir City, located just a couple blocks from the Gulf of Mexico in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The family-owned business started in 1956 and has grown with the city, which has burgeoned from 356 residents, according to the 1960 census, to its present population of 13,203.

Souvenir City’s story begins in the 1940s when Josie Weaver Weir ventured to open a small cafe dubbed Jo’s Lunchbox. In 1956 she converted the 1,000-square-foot eatery into The Anchor Gift Shop.

Three years later, her son, Clyde Weir, took over the gift shop and rechristened it Souvenir City, a name he “kind of stole” from a store he visited in Miami Beach, Fla., during his honeymoon. His efforts to “sell inexpensive little trinkets and things” scored well with the growing populace and escalating number of tourists.

The entrance was originally marked with a giant conch shell, but when Weir learned that a competitor planned to open across the street, he installed a 50-foot shark to catch the attention of passersby.

Business went, er, swimmingly until Feb. 4, 1996, when the building, its contents, the conch and the shark were all destroyed in a fire.

There is virtually no end to the variety of trinkets found at Souvenir City. Many reviewers remark that the store “has everything you want or can think of.” Shells of all sizes are available at Souvenir City. The new carousel in the candy store allows children a fun way to select treats and other treasures.

Clyde worked assiduously to resurrect the store and reopened in a 30,000-square-foot facility barely a year later on March 1, 1997, complete with a new shark, made of concrete and rebar, to greet customers.

The shark remains a consistent draw, with Paul Johnson, the Souvenir City’s owner since 2007, estimating that visitors snap “hundreds upon hundreds” of photos every day of friends and family members standing in front of or inside the 20-foot-high jaws. Visitors can also capture photos with the pirate ship behind the store.

Souvenir City underwent a severe pummeling from Hurricane Sally, a Category 2 storm that made landfall on Sept. 16, 2020, 16 years to the day after Gulf Shores was hit by Hurricane Ivan. The store announced its Feb. 1, 2021, reopening with a post on its Facebook page, including the sentiment, “Our Souvenir City family has been through some rough times, but as every family does, we stay through these hard times together.”

The store is invariably crowded during tourist season and is packed to the gills with an almost incalculable assortment of souvenirs, mementos, curios, trinkets and knickknacks, including: • Air-brushed T-shirts, with a custom airbrush department open seven days a week. • Beachwear, swimwear and fishing outerwear. • Jewelry. • Shoes, sandals and flip-flops. • Sunglasses, sun hats and baseball caps. • Picture frames and other home decor items. • Candles and Christmas ornaments. • Sand buckets and shovels and other beach toys. • Stuffed animals. • Coffee mugs and shot glasses. • Seashells, sand dollars and live hermit crabs with painted shells.

Souvenir City’s kitchen dishes up homemade fudge, featuring a selection of perennial favorites: chocolate, vanilla, rocky road, butter pecan, maple, peanut butter, tiger butter and the like. The candy store recently installed a new toy carousel.

Johnson is motivated by his devotion to God, and the store offers a rack of inspirational literature from Choice Books for devotional time on the beach. “A relationship with God is the most important relationship you can have,” he said. “Embrace it every day.”

Before becoming the owner, Johnson worked at Souvenir City in the summers during his high school years. “It’s been a blessing to be here and be part of it,” he said.

The store remains a local icon, with the city of Gulf Shores designating every July 1 as “Souvenir City Day.”

Souvenir City supports several charities and carries a full line of apparel from Puppie Love, a family-owned business dedicated to facilitating dog adoptions by donating profits to rescue centers and adoption agencies.

Customer feedback is largely positive, as attested by the 4.0 overall score from more than 250 reviews on www.tripadvisor.com.

Reviewers repeatedly note how “the kids love the place” and that “the staff is very nice.” Downsides include the crowds and narrow aisles and a recurring complaint that Souvenir City personnel would hardly take offense to: “I spent way too much money here,” wrote one reviewer. “I ended up buying three T-shirts because I found so many I liked and couldn’t choose,” wrote another.

Souvenir City is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. The business is closed Christmas Day, and hours may vary on other holidays and during the off-season.

For more information, call (251) 948-7280, email souvenirs@gulftel. com or visit www.facebook.com/souvenircitygs.