Shopping in Scottsboro

Louis Priddy’s love of pounding the pavement led him to found Running Factory II—the previous incarnation of Front Runner Athletics—in 1982. Over the next 15 years, the business blossomed until Louis changed its name and built a new 4,000-square-foot location to accommodate its expanded inventory of shoes and athletic apparel.

In 2001, Louis passed the reins to avid runner Chad Varga, who has carried on Priddy’s legacy by ensuring that his customers’ shoes not only fit on their feet but also accommodate runners’ individual arches and manner of jogging. To achieve this, Chad and his staff conduct free comprehensive gait analyses, guiding guests—who are often referred by local orthopedists and podiatrists—toward shoes that match their foot shapes and habits of running on the sidewalk, on a track, or on hot coals. The store’s wide range of men’s and women’s shoes from the likes of ASICS, Adidas, Mizuno, and New Balance help the experts find the ideal pair.

Bedzzz Express facilitates the best night’s sleep possible by taking inventory of customers’ sleeping habits to help them choose the perfect mattress. President Keith Krininger credits this practice with Bedzzz Express success, which has resulted in 32 store locations sprinkled across three states. In the showroom, models from Sealy, Serta, and Simmons cushion bodies at rest with a range of comfortable materials including foam and pillow tops that help lull customers to sleep. Mattresses and mattress sets are available in twin, full, queen, and king sizes and can be delivered locally.

Gallery owner Kirk Carlisle doesn’t just sell art—he protects it. In addition to showcasing his self-curated collection of century-spanning paintings that deck the walls of Carlisle Gallery, he also helps newer art battle the forces of time with artistic framing services. The gallery’s custom-framing specialist draws on more than 30 years of experience as he pairs diplomas, paintings, and finger-painted replicas of Bayeux Tapestry with complementary matting and outlines before securing them in their new glass-covered homes. Frames make aesthetic statements of their own, with edging chosen from more than 10,000 frame styles ranging from hand-carved Italian moldings to sleek metallic boundaries.

For more than 30 years, MurMaid Mattress has culled an extensive arsenal of mattresses from both top-brand manufacturers and from its own, onsite factory. The shop has garnered the title of Best Mattress Store from readers of the Chattanooga Times Free Press multiple times. At seven locations throughout the Tennessee Valley, its staffers navigate sprawling showrooms that brim with memory-foam mattresses and adjustable beds from brands such as Serta and Tempur-Pedic. It procures its inventory directly from such manufacturers, working to keep its prices affordable and to ensure no under-the-bed monsters were damaged during travel. The store's immense stash of products also includes MurMaid Mattress’s own creations, assembled at an onsite factory affixed to the Cleveland location. Staffers produce custom, made-to-order mattresses from materials used by national brands.

From stocking pink booties to supporting the pink ribbon cause, breast cancer, with a portion of their proceeds, the Thrift Warriors staff tends to a wide range of needs with low-cost resale apparel and merchandise. The selection at any given time might include Banana Republic jeans, Abercrombie T-shirts, sofas and loveseats, kitchen utensils, and a robot from the future that can tell you where the best sales will be in the year 2356.

Declared a 2011 finalist for the area's Best Mattress Store by readers of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Mattress Outlet has culled an extensive arsenal of mattresses from top-brand manufacturers for more than 30 years. At eight locally owned locations throughout the Tennessee Valley, its knowledgeable staffers navigate showrooms that brim with cushy memory-foam slumbering surfaces from brands such as Serta and Tempur-Pedic. The staff procures the store's inventory from top manufacturers, who have partnered with Mattress Outlet for years, working to keep the prices affordable and to ensure no under-the-bed monsters are damaged during travel.