Beloved midtown Sacramento shop, known for ‘total impracticality,’ to close after 47 years
Five years ago, when the owner of a beloved midtown shop planned to retire, Linda Novi stepped in to take over ownership and extend the life of Mixed Bag, the midtown institution known for offering quirky wares at a reasonable price.
Now Novi herself is ready to retire, but a successor hasn’t stepped forward. Now, Novi said she expects Mixed Bag will soon close, ending the shop’s 47-year run.
The store has delighted Sacramentans for decades with its abundant decor and offbeat merchandise, from novelty items like fake mustaches and rubber chickens to staples like candles and cookware.
“Anywhere you look, there’s something,” Novi said Thursday, gesturing overhead to a row of wind chimes hanging from the ceiling of the shop at 24th and K streets. Even she finds items on the shelves that she’s never seen before.
“If you can’t find something for somebody you’re looking for, you’re really picky. You’re really hard to please,” she said.
Novi, now 77 years old, said she’s ready to spend more time with her two sons and four grandchildren. After unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer, she said she plans to launch a going-out-of-business sale sometime next week, and close Mixed Bag by the end of March.
Good humor drove Mixed Bag’s delight
Novi spent much of her career as a sales representative, and met Mixed Bag’s original owner, Susan Larson, while cold-calling prospective clients in 1984. Larson bought some merchandise, and became one of Novi’s best customers.
When Larson disclosed plans to retire in 2019, Novi told her husband she wanted to take over the store.
Did she really want to take that on, he asked?
“I said ‘Yeah, we can’t let it go!’” Novi recalled.
The store embraces good humor and “total impracticality,” Novi said. It sells tins of disposable underwear to bring along for travel, and gadgets for hanging key chains from purse brims.
“Just good little things like that, that you’re not going to find everywhere,” Novi said. “We have nothing really high-end here. And we have a lot of very inexpensive items — but they’re not junk.”
The COVID-19 pandemic hit months after Novi took over, and foot traffic has never fully recovered, she said. State workers don’t stop in as often on their way to or from their downtown offices. Longtime customers, Novi said, have kept the business afloat.
Novi said money issues weren’t driving her to close the store — it brings in enough to cover rent and payroll. Still, if the business had been more lucrative, it may have been easier to find a buyer.
While several people expressed interest, a deal never came to fruition, she said.
Midtown store was holiday hot spot
The shop was filled with its typical calm commotion Thursday as staff processed the news of the impending closure. One employee paused ringing up a customer to help another cut a piece of hot pink wrapping paper for a Valentine’s Day gift. The door opened, and two more customers came in from the rain.
Most employees said they were thinking of the regulars who they have gotten to know well over the years.
One longtime customer, employees said, has a dog who drags her toward the store whenever they walk by. Another has shopped at Mixed Bag since her daughters were 5 or 6 years old. Now both are in college.
“I’ve watched them grow up. They come in for every holiday,” said manager Wendy Gray, 70, of Sacramento.
Sydney Dowling, who works at Mixed Bag one day a week, recalled that she once assisted a woman buying an “outrageous” number of holiday ornaments. Dowling learned the woman was hosting her family’s Christmas for the first time after her mother died. She remembered serving another customer who’d recently discovered he had several half-siblings, and was buying gifts for each one.
“I refuel my heart once a week,” said Dowling, 65, of Sacramento, who has worked part-time at the store since 2021.
The store has some older regulars, Gray said, and if she doesn’t see them for a while, she calls to check in.
“Honestly, it’s going to be really sad,” Gray said. “I think midtown is really missing something. I wish it could carry on.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
