INIndiana field entry
Von's Shops
West Lafayette, IN
A West Lafayette institution where new and used books, vinyl records, rocks, minerals, beads, jewelry, fashion, comics, cards, gifts and novelties have spent decades accumulating under the same Von's name.
Von's Shops turns a long-running campus-area bookstore into a maze of records, rocks, beads, jewelry, fashion, comics, cards and novelty merchandise that keeps changing retail categories as you move through it.
Field notes
Why it belongs
New bookstore, used bookstore, record shop, rock-and-mineral store, bead shop, jewelry store, clothing boutique, comic shop, card store, gift shop, and novelty counter.
Von's did not become difficult to classify through a gimmick; it simply kept adding serious departments until the original bookstore became something much stranger.
Von's Shops has been part of West Lafayette since 1968, growing outward from books into an unusually broad collection of specialty departments. Current first-party material still supports new and used books, records and music, rocks and minerals, beads, jewelry, fashion, comics, cards, gifts and novelty merchandise. The result is less a conventional bookstore with a few side products than a connected retail maze where several different specialty stores appear to have grown into one another.
Store contents
What you will find
Directory categories
Known for
- Since 1968
- New and used books
- Vinyl records
- Music
- Rocks and minerals
- Beads
- Jewelry
- Fashion
- Comics
- Cards
- Gifts
- Novelties
- Purdue-area institution