A Northshore gift shop built around Chattanooga pride recently reached a milestone that its owners say belongs as much to local makers as it does to the business itself.
During Chattanooga Entrepreneur Week, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly presented Locals Only Gifts and Goods co-owner Danielle Landrum with a Shopify Milestone Award recognizing the business for surpassing 10,000 lifetime orders.
For Landrum, the recognition represented years of support from customers who intentionally chose locally made products over mass-produced souvenirs and online convenience.
“Reaching this milestone means a lot to us,” she says. “We’re grateful for the support of the community.”
Kelly says small businesses like Locals Only help define Chattanooga’s culture and strengthen the local economy.
“Entrepreneurship is the only way we create wealth from scratch in this community,” he says.
Built around Chattanooga makers
Unlike many tourist-oriented gift shops stocked with generic products manufactured overseas, Locals Only built its reputation around goods created by people with direct ties to Chattanooga.
Inside the store, customers find locally designed T-shirts, Chattanooga-themed mugs, handmade candles, spice blends, coffee, magnets and gift boxes assembled from products made throughout the city. Some of the merchandise is even produced on-site, with staff creating magnets and other Chattanooga-themed items inside the store itself.
“Kristen is behind the counter right now putting images onto mugs. She also makes all of our magnets and buttons,” Landrum says. “We buy the T-shirts, local artists create the designs and we press the designs onto the shirts ourselves.”
The store also carries products from about 130 local makers.
Among the store’s popular sellers are products from Mean Mug Coffeehouse, pottery created by John-Michael Foreman, candles from Rustic House and spices from Alchemy Spice.
Without local makers, Landrum points out, the business would not exist.
“Someone comes up with an idea for a product, makes it and then pitches it to us,” she explained. It’s rewarding to give back by carrying and promoting their work.”
Forman says Locals Only has become one of the most important retail partners for his business, helping introduce his Chattanooga-branded pottery to both residents and tourists visiting the city.
Forman notes customers regularly contact him or visit his studio after first discovering his mugs inside the Northshore shop, which he described as one of the city’s strongest showcases for local creativity.
“Locals Only is my biggest retailer in the Chattanooga area, and they’ve really expanded my exposure to the local tourism market,” Forman says. “When you walk in, it feels like a place that’s lifting up and showcasing the best our community has to offer, because that’s exactly what they’re doing.
“It’s refreshing to be in a space where big corporations have little to no presence. There’s a real shared excitement in Chattanooga about supporting local businesses and celebrating the creative things happening here – and Locals Only captures that spirit in a way visitors immediately connect with.”
From gift baskets to a storefront
The business itself began with a far simpler concept.
Landrum’s husband, Eric, a real estate agent, wanted to give clients meaningful gifts to celebrate the purchase of their new homes. The couple began assembling gift baskets filled with local products.
The response was immediate.
“Everyone loved them,” she says. “Then one of the other real estate agents asked him, ‘Where can I get one of these?’”
Landrum launched a website and initially operated the business out of her home, working directly with makers to source products in bulk. Eventually, growing interest pushed the business into a brick-and-mortar storefront at the busy corner of North Market Street and Frazier Avenue.
The location, which had sat vacant for years, became an ideal fit for the business.
“It’s been a really good spot for us,” Landrum says.
The tech behind the storefront
To manage both its online storefront and in-store operations, Locals Only relies on the e-commerce platform Shopify, which Landrum says is essential to handling the store’s complex inventory.
The system functions as both the company’s website and its point-of-sale software, tracking every purchase made online and in person.
Landrum selected Shopify because it seamlessly integrates e-commerce with retail sales while offering tools that fit the store’s specialty in curated gift boxes. Many of those bundles combine products from multiple local vendors, creating inventory challenges that traditional retail systems often struggle to handle.
“Selling gift boxes that are comprised of items from all over the store can be an inventory nightmare,” she says.
Shopify’s inventory management tools automatically deduct each individual item included in a gift box when a purchase is made, allowing the store to accurately track stock across hundreds of locally sourced products.
A reflection of Chattanooga’s identity
According to Kelly, the local-first mentality defines Chattanooga’s retail environment.
“It’s rare to have a retailer that’s so dedicated to the local economy that they literally build their brand around local products,” he says.
The mayor says visitors frequently comment on how clearly the city’s identity emerges through its small businesses.
“I hear again and again from people who come here how much the local culture comes through the retail experience,” Kelly says.
The milestone arrives during a challenging stretch for businesses along Frazier Avenue due to the temporary closure of the Walnut Street Bridge, which has reduced foot traffic in the area.
“With the Walnut Street Bridge closed right now, we can use all the local support we can get until it reopens in September,” Landrum says.
Still, she remains optimistic about the future of both the Northshore district and Chattanooga’s broader small-business community.
“That’s part of what gives Chattanooga its character,” she says. “It’s not just chain restaurants here; it’s all these different small businesses that make the city what it is.”
Landrum points out that tourists often leave impressed after realizing the products throughout the store were actually made by local artisans rather than imported from factories overseas.
“Every product has a story behind it and a local person who created it – and I believe visitors connect with that as they walk through the store.”