Shopping in Gladstone

Roy G. Biv-ify your printer with black or color ink for assorted printers, such as a lovely shade of magenta for a Brother DCP 130 ($13), some cyan for a Canon photo printer ($10.94), or a little black cartridge for an HP DeskJet ($26.45). Or put it toward a black toner cartridge for an HP LaserJet ($111), a Dell 1100 ($63), and much more. Stop by any location to redeem your Groupon.

Founded by Ken Euston in 1971, Euston Hardware's old-fashioned legacy continues under the helm of Ken's son. Kevin, who has since grown the shops into three locations, keeps the shelves packed with more than 65,000 items for homes, landscaping, and automobiles. Experts chat with customers to help them to tackle projects from changing a car's oil to painting their house solid green so it can be replaced with a CGI castle. Home-improvement tools, which include items for the kitchen and bath, keep domiciles functioning at their best. The friendly staff can also guide green thumbs to lawn and garden supplies or help them select the right locks and outdoor equipment to keep their tools from escaping and impersonating the local robocop.

A wave of pastel hues washes over the walls of Lauren Alexandra's two elegant boutiques, where baby and maternity specialist Pamela Dicapo has been outfitting infants, toddlers, and their parents with upscale accessories since 1994. Newborn essentials—stuffed animals, baby-talk translators, and blankets from brands such as My Blankee and Little Giraffe—share colorful shelf space with apparel from European clothiers such as CakeWalk and Catimini. The shops brim with a bevy of accouterments, and Pamela's passion for all things baby-related extends beyond her store. She and her supporting crew travel to parents’ homes to cultivate domestic comfort with professional room design services, harnessing their decorating finesse to help parents select soothing, kid-friendly wall treatments, furniture, and carpet.

The Kansas City Star's hard-hitting journalism has netted seven Pulitzer Prizes over its distinguished 130-year history and expanded into cyberspace through its website, KansasCity.com. Fat Sunday editions, meanwhile, are glutted with rich content, including C.W. Gusewelle’s news column, a spread of color comics, and the ever-popular coupons and sales ads.

For more than 40 years, the specialists at Liddle's Sport Shop have outfitted local players with proper padding and uniforms for a full spectrum of sports. Along the labyrinthine racks and shelves of the shop, players can find equipment for athletic endeavors including baseball, football, running, and volleyball. Liddle's Sport Shop also carries athletic apparel and shoes from brands such as Under Armour, Asics, Wilson, and Spaulding. Coaches can consult logo artists for in-house screenprinting and embroidery services, which personalize items such as hats, jerseys, and official team pajamas.

The tobacco, the wrapper, and the roll. On the surface, a cigar may not seem overly complex, but Fidel’s Cigar Shop celebrates the depths of its nuance in head-to-toe humidors that lock in and preserve earthy flavors harvested from Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, and elsewhere. The shop’s staff educates guests on the inventory of more than 300 varieties, with specialized flavors and finishes akin to a fine wine’s bouquet or a gourmet coffee’s roast. Along with rows of cocoa-colored cigars tucked into cedar boxes, Fidel’s also outfits aspiring aficionados with humidors, lighters, and cutters. In lively, social settings, regular events showcase new boutique products from exclusive estates, and the onsite Graycliff smoking lounge swaddles smokers with cozy seating, WiFi, and three LCD TVs, allowing them to relax as smoke-eating air purifiers erase the one-sided games of tic-tac-toe played with smoke rings.