A Mysterious New Store Might Be Opening Soon in Dubuque

Something always interesting seems to happen to me and my girlfriend whenever we venture down to Dubuque's Wacker Plaza. A few months ago, we were both intrigued by a mysterious footprint we found on the sidewalk outside of Your Pie. Yesterday, when dropping off some items at Plato's Closet, we were again left wondering what could be coming to Dubuque.

A new store appears to be opening in Dubuque's Wacker Plaza, adjacent to the aforementioned Plato's Closet, at the end of the strip mall. The building was once home to a Great Clips, but is now looking to house something completely different.

The new shop is called TuTu Gifts. What comes next is entirely speculation because I cannot find anything concrete about the store's opening despite some active Googling and Facebook sleuthing.

Judging from the view through the store's glass windows, it looks to be a Japanese gift shops of sorts. You can see various Maneki-neko (or "waving cats") from the window, little figurines, decorative boxes, and more.

Some of the items even look to be homemade, as there is a small workstation with two chairs and various items on the table. That tells me the owners themselves are busy constructing some of the items in order to put the finishing touches on the store.

TuTu Gifts clearly looks to be in setup mode, as various boxes and stepstools sit around the store. The shop might not appear very big, but it does appear to house a wide variety of cute gifts, toys, and maybe even some clothing.

Again, this is all speculation on my behalf. I can't find a single thing on TuTu Gifts via Google despite my valiant efforts. No less, one can assume it's a small business that is looking to make waves in an already bustling shopping district.

Should TuTu Gifts open sometime this year, it will be, to my knowledge, the second Japanese-centric store to open within Wacker Plaza and the adjacent Kennedy Mall. Last year, Angry Fox opened its doors inside Kennedy Mall.

Angry Fox has a large assortment of items: figurines, plush toys, mock swords/katanas, snacks, collectibles, and various other Asian and anime items. Not only does owner Staci Powell have a Janesville location, she also travels around the country to sell her merchandise at conventions and trade shows alike.

Per the Biz Times, 80-90% of the merchandise sold at Angry Fox is imported directly from Japan, which leads to frequent product rotation. This assures that even frequent consumers and visitors of Angry Fox will see different items in the store on each visit.

I'll be sure to keep tabs on TuTu Gifts over the summer, and perhaps even take a tour of it once it opens in Dubuque's Wacker Plaza!