Starks

stark's in prairieduchien
Originally uploaded by Snak Shak

This is a little off-topic for me, but I really wanted to post this photo...

One of my all-time favorite places to drop by for a quirk fix is Starks in Prairie Du Chien, WI. Starks is a combination of a well-stocked sporting goods store and a big liquor store. That's right, those are shotguns and rifles above the booze in this photo.

The store looks to have once been a grocery store, but rather than produce and bakery, the offerings at Starks include boats, motors, fishing and hunting gear plus a selection of 600 wines, a truckload of booze, and more beer than most people will ever need or want.

Of course the combination of firearms and liquor is a little startling to puritan Minnesotans that venture down to Prairie Du Chien looking for river town quaintness, but they seem to be on to something, here.