Connect
To Top

Meet Lorraine Zomok of Memory Lane Trinkets and Treasures in Historic Downtown Glendale

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorraine Zomok.

Lorraine, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The definition of retirement is “the period of one’s life after leaving one’s job and ceasing to work.” I truly never imagined where my retirement years would lead me. For more than three decades, I worked in civil service. Eighteen of those years were with the City of Glendale’s Tourism Division where I began as a part-time travel counselor in October 2000 and through the years became the administrator for the department, managing Visit Glendale (the convention and visitors bureau representing the West Valley.) A resident of Glendale since the age of 10, I truly love my hometown. Having the opportunity to promote and showcase Glendale and the West Valley to a worldwide audience was a wonderful adventure. When I first began my tourism career, our beloved Historic Downtown was the primary focus point for the city. Over the years, farm fields made way for a premier sports and entertainment mecca, the Bell Road Corridor became a booming retail and restaurant destination and Glendale became a global tourism city. But all roads for me continued to lead to our treasured downtown. I retired from the city in 2018 and began volunteering in numerous non-profit organizations near and dear to me, never imaging that my next great adventure was soon to unfold.

My husband Bud and I live in a century-old home in the Catlin Court Historic District of Downtown Glendale. We love our home and it’s creaking original wood floors, welcoming front porch and the 100 years of memories that fill our house with love and laughter. We are just two blocks from the Historic Downtown Glendale shopping and dining district. One of our favorite shops in downtown was The Open Door. The shop was owned by our dear friend Elina Sharp. Elina was a special friend to all of us. Two years ago, we lost our dear Elina after a brief illness. Over the past two years, her beloved shop closed its doors. Several months ago, we began to dream of opening our little shop in our downtown. The Open Door building called our name. My brother Kenn Clark joined us and we purchased the 2,400 square foot, 70-year old ranch-style building in March 2019 and named it Memory Lane Trinkets and Treasures. For many years, Elina shared her shop with her family cat name Bobby, who quickly became the shop mascot. Bobby happily greeted customers and wasn’t shy about letting you know he liked a little scratch behind the ears. Today, Bobby continues living at the shop and has quickly filled our hearts with joy. I truly feel Elina’s presence and I know she is happy with what we are building in this precious place. A beautiful photo of Elina is on display in our front room and every day I give Bobby a special scratch behind his ear in her memory.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The retail world is new to me! But the love of our downtown, the importance of top-notch customer service and the connections made with residents and visitors have always been important to with my many years in city government. It’s been an exciting journey to have this nearly 60-year old brain stretched in so many new ways. From learning inventory control systems, purchasing products, retail merchandising and all that comes with opening a family-owned small business. We have been very blessed to have a community of business neighbors who have become mentors, advocates and dear friends.

The front yard of our shop features several large flowerpots and window boxes. My mom always loved flowers and it was important to me to fill the flower boxes in her memory. On day two of owning the shop, we arrived in the morning to find our flowerpots filled with beautiful blooming plants. We learned that our dear friends and neighbors at Bears & More located just around the corner from us had arrived earlier in the morning and had lovingly filled every flowerpot. At first, I couldn’t believe the kindness and generosity of this sweet and touching gesture, but I quickly learned that there is no place like Historic Downtown Glendale and the caring hearts and helping hands of our business community neighbors.

Please tell us about your business.
We officially opened Memory Lane Trinkets and Treasures on May 11, 2019 (my husband’s birthday). Our boutique-style shop features nine themed rooms featuring fashion jewelry, handbags, women’s apparel, infant and toddler clothing, home and garden décor, kitchen gifts, antiques and an artisan gallery space with more than 20 incredible artisans. In August, we opened an Arizona Information Center inside the shop. The information center features an extensive collection of Arizona travel information including local, regional and statewide travel guides, maps and destination brochures. Residents and visitors will find a wide array of travel information for cities and attractions across the five regions of the state to help in planning their vacations throughout Arizona.

We are excited to bring a travel resource to our residents and tourists who visit Historic Downtown Glendale and help them plan their Arizona adventures. The Visitor Information Center also features a variety of locally sourced and artisan-crafted Arizona gift items and souvenirs. In addition, a large world map is on display for visitors to place pins representing their hometown. The map already features numerous pins from visitors who have visited from across the U.S. and international destinations. I am truly blessed and I’m so thankful for my crazy, busy, post-retirement life. I sometimes feel like a Hallmark movie come to life. How lucky am I to live, work and play in the downtown that I love so very much! Retirement usually means an end to something, but instead, this is just the beginning…..

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
It was December 1971, and our Mom and Dad surprised my brother and me with a holiday vacation to Glendale, AZ! We were excited to leave the cold winter of the northern suburbs of Chicago to bask in the Southwestern sun. I was 10 years old and I’ll never forget swimming in the hotel pool on Christmas Day. It took only three months for my Dad, who was a plumber, and quite tired of frozen winter pipes, to pack us all up (including our pet poodle and parakeet) and we drove the four-day journey to Glendale, AZ. Now, 47 years later, I can’t imagine living anyplace else. Historic Downtown Glendale is truly my heaven on earth.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Photo credits: Memory Lane Trinkets and Treasures

Suggest a story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in