What is Uptown Vintage and Shabby?

Uptown vintage and shabby is a thrift store pop-up that only happens 4 days a month, each month. Located at 1311 Mangove Avenue, Chico, Ca, this thrifters’ paradise has a whole host of goods and clothing ranging from higher-end vintage clothing, to knick-knacks and relics of the past. April 2025 marks the shop’s 10th year anniversary. One of the ways the store celebrated besides having staff wear party hats, was by letting customers put in 2 tickets into the lottery jar, where you could be drawn for in-store credit gift cards.

The store was chalk full of interesting things to look at and buy, and to give us even more insight into the store, Tracy Williams, or as she likes to be called Cha Cha, gave The Roadrunner an exclusive interview!

Cha Cha Shares her Business

Cha Cha founded the Uptown Vintage and Shabby pop-up 10 years ago in April of 2015. She rents out the building for just those 4 days a month (check here for upcoming date announcements) and has 10 different vendors take a space to set up shop and sell their wares. This leads to the shop being a completely different type of collection in each space, each with different types of items, prices, and specialties.

She told us there is a waitlist to become a vendor, and that the fee for each slot has not changed since the opening. She explained that the vendor fees cover the overhead, so she has no need to up prices, and that money is not the main priority for her business anyway.

Cha Cha boasts that her store is a “complete and total community,” and that they are a “Safe space… we accept all people. And you know, it’s kind of a high vibe, we’re kind of weird and we do fun stuff, play great music, and our prices are amazing!”

She beamed while recounting how her “Mind has been blown multiple times throughout the last 10 years… because people are amazing, and they’re good to us.” She emphasized that she believes human connections are amazing and that she wants people to know that she and her crew have a natrual ability to make customers feel comfortable, and even if they aren’t looking to buy when the store comes around, she said that she invites you to “come in here and just say hi, give us a hug, we hug a lot here too.”

Jordan’s Space

Speaking of friendly staff, The Roadrunner was also able to get an exclusive interview with vendor Jordan Jacobson, who runs the space Henrietta’s vintage closet. Posing in front of her “shop inside a shop,” she boasts trinkets and the store’s birthday decorations. Then there is her little wardrobe full of vintage clothing and dresses.

Jordan, who has rented a space for the past 3 years at the Uptown Vintage Shabby, displays her collection in a corner to the right as soon as you walk through the door. She told me that she messaged Cha Cha one day asking her about maybe claiming a space, and she was told to come down to the store in a response just 15 minutes later. Jacobson told me that “I had never done this before… I love vintage, I have a little collection, Like let’s go for it!”

When asked what her favorite thing about helping work the store is, she said that it is the team. She explained, “There’s a good group of us vendors that work together, yeah. And Cha Cha, the owner, is awesome.” She also let me know that she loves the variety. Because each vendor brings their own collection, “you will always find something different no matter where you go!”

Val Reveals all

Customer Valerie Higdon came with the Butte College Journalism Club for a field trip, a current Chico State student who will be joining Butte in the Fall 2025 semester. Valerie wanted to give her first impression of Uptown Vintage to The Roadrunner.

Valerie started out by saying that Uptown Vintage reminded her of a thrift store she used to go to when she lived in Oregon, and that the vendor variety gave the store “more charm than a regular thrift store,” and that she could tell that “each person has like, a different focus.” She also expressed happiness that the proceeds were going directly to vendors and not to a corporation like Goodwill that could be spending it however they wanted.

When asked about pricing, she explained that it’s a little pricier than she usually goes for in clothing, but that the collection is worth it, and that “When I get paid, I’m definitely gonna come back and take a look.”

‘Student Spills’ with Emily

Emily Solario, a member of the Butte College Journalism Club, came on a field trip with the group and gave her thoughts on the thrift pop-up as well.

She touted the trip as “doing a fun little adventure, trying to do some news articles, see what’s out there in Chico.”

When asked what her favorite finds in the store were, she described some 1930s postcards she found because “the back does have words written from other families,” and she thought that was novel. She went on to say how she thought the store was really cool because it was “actually vintage.”

On prices and accessibility, Emily said she thought the store was really accessible for Butte College students, especially those based in Chico who ride the bus or bike, because it is located right on Mangrove. For prices, she said that they were really affordable. “I mean, it could be like a dish, and it’d be like 5$ or up to 20$ or 30$.” So she believed the price range was varied that it was accessible to anyone.

Lastly, when asked about being a part of the Journalism Club, she urged students to join by saying ” If you like reading, writing, or have the thought of photography, or even just wanting to get social and make new friends, just join the Journalism Club. We’re very kind and friendly. Some of us are shy, some of us are outgoing, So there’s someone for everyone.”

If you would like to meet Emily and go on trips like these, make sure to join the Butte College Journalism Club today! And next time Uptown Vintage and Shabby pops up in Chico, make sure you tell Cha Cha The Roadrunner sent you!