Rare cacti, local artisan goods now available at newly expanded downtown Tacoma shop
On the corner of Broadway and South 9th Street in downtown Tacoma, rare green and pink cacti stretch for sunlight through the tall windows of a new plant and home-goods shop that opened in late July.
Sunny’s, formerly housed in a smaller shop at 702 Broadway, is now basking in the glow of better light and more foot traffic at 785 Broadway, say owners Sarah Oh and Ryan McGowan.
The shop is also only a couple of blocks from the couple’s new matcha shop, Jin Jin Matcha, which opened in late February.
Walking around Sunny’s on Thursday afternoon, customers browsed a wide variety of succulents, rare plants and artisan goods: from fragrances to homemade pottery, glass cups, candles, soaps and oils.
Sunny’s is a product of Oh and McGowan’s hand-crafted style and love for easy-to-care-for tropical, unusual and uncommon statement plants.
Oh said she hand selects and uses all the products that are sold, and said she chooses pieces that are exceptionally made, designed to last a lifetime.
“Now that we have more space, it’s been really great to bring in more independent brands. Independent glass blowers and ceramicists that are based in Tacoma,” Oh said. “A lot of self-care, apothecary [products]. A lot of ceramics and really old Japanese-made ceramics and goods. If you look at the shears in the case [by the register], those are made in Japan by a company that has made Samurai swords for hundreds of years.”
Oh said they’ve had their eye on the 785 Broadway storefront for years because of its location and natural light, “but it was notoriously difficult to get.” After issues with electricity were resolved, Oh said they flipped the shop in about two weeks.
Part of their vision was to offer a range of products accessible for any budget, Oh said. Many products are in the $15-$30 range and prices for plants vary, from $5 to $850 for the largest and rarest. McGowan said a majority of the plants are under $50.
“We focus a lot on arid plants or cacti. Very uncommon, specialty ones and larger statement cacti that are kind of older, in addition to really easy care cacti,” McGowan said. “It’s all things that stress easy care, as to not be intimidated.”
McGowan said he applies an intentional philosophy to the plant selection and goes to nurseries weekly.
Some of the plants are so rare they wouldn’t even be seen in a conservatory, he said, and some are from their personal collection at home. Because they get a lot of first-time plant owners, as customers check out, staff is there to answer questions about plant care and offer advice, McGowan said.
“Really, we love the shapes and colors and varieties of cacti and those kinds of plants because they’re really, really unique. And they’re things that you may not see as often in the Pacific Northwest,” he said. “They really do quite well here because of our extended summers.”
If you go
▪ Hours: Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
▪ Address: 785 Broadway, Tacoma
▪ Website: https://shop-sunnys.com/
