South Park

Rad and Bad: Yelp Ranks South Park's Bad Madge & Co. #1 Vintage Store in US

If Bad Madge & Co. owner Tanya McAnear could only use one word to describe her top-rated boutique, it would be "rad"

A look at the inside of Bad Madge & Co. in San Diego's South Park neighborhood. This woman-owned business was named Yelp's best vintage store in the U.S. for 2022.
Tanya McAnear

Vintage lovers, you're in luck. The best boutique in the United States is right here in San Diego, according to rankings released by Yelp.

Bad Madge & Co., a boutique vintage store on Fern Street in South Park, is Yelp's top vintage and consignment shop in the country, which owner Tanya McAnear calls "a huge honor" and also "a lot of pressure."

Yelp used a number of factors, like review ratings and number of reviews, to determine its rankings and then selected one consignment store from each state to make the list. According to Yelp's rankings, Bad Madge & Co. was California's top store in the user-based review website's vintage and consignment category.

"One of my absolute favorite vintage shops in town! You can find everything from home goods, furniture, clothes, accessories and gifts," one user wrote on Yelp.

"Fantastic place! I highly recommend for vintage overload! LOVE LOVE LOVE," another said.

"Really cool vintage shop with an expansive selection. Everything seems like it carries a story," another said.

Bad Madge & Co., with a team of seven curators and designers, sells an eclectic mixture of upcycled furniture, fashion, accessories, and collectibles, as well as items from local artisans.

Tanya McAnear, owner of South Park's Bad Madge & Co., poses for a photograph at her store in San Diego.
Tanya McAnear
Tanya McAnear, owner of South Park's Bad Madge & Co., poses for a photograph at her store in San Diego.

McAnear describes the shop as "a miniature department store." On one side of the store, customers can find vintage fashion and accessories as well as jewelry, potery, caftans, kimonos and more from local designers; on the other side, find unique home items like furniture, lighting, art.

Many of those items were destined for the dump and given new life.

"We saved it from a landfill, it's being removed, and now it's sparking joy in another person's life," McAnear said highlighting the shop's local and sustainable products. The unique items even attract customers from across the country who usually discover the shop through online reviews.

"We have a pretty wide customer base. We appeal to vintage lovers and mid-century lovers, but we also have the collector, and we also have a strong local designer collection," McAnear said.

The boutique opened 11 years ago after a friend inspired McAnear to leave her career in the fashion production industry and rent the storefront on Fern Street. Within three weeks of ideation, McAnear was a small business owner.

She credits her success to a strong support system, including the South Park community, which helped get her store through the pandemic. When the COVID-19 health order shut down stores to shoppers, the Bad Madge & Co. team started selling items on Instagram Live.

"We pivoted at the beginning of the pandemic and turned a lot to Instagram. We really connected with our customers in a way that they could continue supporting us through the pandemic," McAnear said.

"It's really a community, I think that makes it really special because South Park is such a nice, welcoming community."

The response was so overwhelming, McAnear continues the event called Thursday Night Things weekly, featuring a variety of guests like pottery artists, drag performers and more.

For those of you who can make it to the shop in person, Bad Madge & Co. is open daily, though hours vary and should be checked on their website or Yelp page. Happy shopping!

And, if you have an item you're trying to get rid of, McAnear encourages sellers to reach out here or through Instagram direct message to determine if it's an item Bad Madge can give new life.

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