Longtime Modesto store with stuff for almost everyone closing in Vintage Faire Mall
Long before Modesto had a Spencer’s Gifts, before the rise of Hot Topic, before the dominance of Amazon delivering everything under the sun to your doorstep, there was International Imports.
The Vintage Faire Mall stalwart, one of the Modesto shopping center’s original tenants, has been selling a hodgepodge of gifts, collectives, T-shirts, posters, ceramics, novelty items and more since it opened in 1977. But now, after 43 years in business, the locally owned store is shutting its doors.
Founders and husband-and-wife owners Anil and Saroj Sheth plan to close the shop by the end of March. They said the competition from online sellers like Amazon forced their hands, but also it was time for the Modesto couple — who are both in their 70s — to retire.
“People have really connected themselves with the store from childhood to adult(hood),” said Saroj Sheth. “We will miss our customers and we will miss being in business, but at the same time we will spend some time in peace and retirement.”
Generations have browsed the stuffed shelves of the eclectic shop over the years. Turn one direction and you’ll find a wall of rock ‘n’ roll T-shirts. Turn the other and you’ll find collectibles featuring pop culture icons like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne. And look another way you’ll see a case filled with gag gifts like handshake buzzers and fake poop.
With thousands of items for sale, the shop has been a cornucopia of cute, funny, trendy, pretty, spiritual, strange and even salacious items. The curtained-off back area, where the more adult items are kept, was long a source of curiosity and giggles.
Shoppers hearing this week of its impending closure all mentioned fond memories of finding just what they wanted — and some things they didn’t even know they wanted — in the store.
“I’ve been coming since I was 5 years old,” said Pascual Lemus, now 48, who stopped by to give Anil Sheth a hug when he heard the news. “They always had stuff you can’t find anyplace else.”
Over the years, the merchandise the Sheths have carried has also evolved. Anil Sheth immigrated to America from India as a teenager. After graduating college he worked for years as an aerospace industry engineer in the Midwest and then in the late 1960s moved to California. He and his wife opened their first International Imports shop in Merced in 1974.
“My father always said, ‘Don’t work for anybody. Work for yourself’,” Anil Sheth said. “When you’re the CEO of a small business like this, you do everything. You’re a cashier, you’re a janitor, you’re an accountant. Over the years I got to know everybody and they got to know me.”
In the early years they specialized in importing artisan pieces from around the world, like handmade ceramics, woven baskets and other rare artwork. As Vintage Faire Mall was coming together in the late 1970s, the Sheths were among the first businesses to sign on. The store, situated on the second floor right next to the former Sears space, hasn’t moved since its opening day.
The Sheths still proudly show off the first dollar they made from the Modesto store, crisp like the day it was issued, on a document signed by the chamber of commerce for its grand opening.
As tastes changed over the years, so has the store’s merchandise. The store now stocks everything from smoke shop gear like glass pipes to samurai swords and homey clay jars with cutesy sayings like “What the I.R.S. Missed” to figurines of nearly every popular dog breed.
The International Imports concept proved a popular one, and the Sheths were partners in 21 stores across the state, from the Bay Area to San Diego. The Great Recession forced all but the Modesto site to close by 2010. The mall store runs with a small handful of staff including Saroj Sheth and store manager Bhavana Sharma.
Anil and Saroj said the mall management has been great to work with over the years and wanted them to stay — especially in light of a new Dave & Buster’s moving in next door later this year. But at 79 and 74 years old, respectively, and because of changing consumer habits, it felt right to say goodbye to the store.
Still, they won’t be saying goodbye to the business entirely. They plan to keep up their website, www.impgift.com, and continue selling their unique blend of gift and personal wares.
The store is currently running a going out of business sale which is expected to last until they close.
“Our customers have given us so much love to be continuing the business and they’re very, very sad that we’re closing,” said Saroj Sheth. “But there comes a time when all good things must come to an end.”
International Imports in Vintage Faire Mall is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. For more information call 209-527-7300 or visit www.impgift.com.
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 3:07 PM.
