The Roaming Root Cellar — Local services in Fairbanks

Wow. Just wow. I recently went to The Roaming Root Celler for the first time and to say I was impressed, would be quite the understatement.

For starters, I was greeted as I walked in, then the same employee approached me later to show me some products and share the story of how this company has grown over the years. Did you know this business originally started out of a bus? Then another employee checked in with me later to make sure I was finding everything okay. I also overheard another employee calling a customer to let them know they got a product in stock. You really don’t get this type of customer service everyday at other businesses in Fairbanks.

The prices are reasonable and fair, especially considering that they carry so many products that are made in Alaska. I’ve gone to many gift shops around Alaska and the prices here were similar or less then other shops. For example, the Theobrama chocolate bar is $4.50 and I’ve seen it sold other places places for $6.95. I could truly go on and on with giving further examples, but you get the point. I also read some google reviews where people complained about the prices, but the owner responded to them and explained how and why they set their prices to what they are. Although to me, I felt it was obvious what they base their prices off of. They are a small business selling products from other small businesses.

There was also a lady selling her earrings and bracelets as well. I ended up buying a few cute bracelets from her! I would also love to see her jewelry sold here in the future since I think that this was only a pop-up sort of thing. I think her jewelry(especially the bracelets) would sell very well here!

I’ll be a new regular here, as this is truly the best local shop in Fairbanks and their new location on College Rd is conveniently close to where I work. Six out of Five stars.

Here is picture of a few of the products I bought. I’m still working on finishing...

My husband and I, originally from California and now living in the Seattle area, were excited to visit Roaming Roots, a shop recommended to us by a friendly local we met at a brewery. We were looking forward to finding some unique Alaskan items to take home as souvenirs to remember our trip to Fairbanks. The store itself is charming, and we thought it was a great place to pick out something special.

However, our experience was overshadowed by the behavior of a young employee who, unfortunately, made us feel uncomfortable during our visit. Both my husband and I felt as though we were being followed around the store, which made the experience less enjoyable. After discussing it, we realized we both had the same feeling. We were the only people of color in the store, which made us feel singled out and uneasy.

We understand that this may not have been intentional, but it’s important for businesses to make all customers feel welcomed and comfortable. As tourists visiting from the Seattle area, we had hoped for a positive end to our Fairbanks trip, but unfortunately, our visit to Roaming Roots left us feeling disappointed and uncomfortable.

We want to be clear that we’re not questioning the store's offerings, as it certainly has potential, but we hope the management takes the time to ensure that all customers feel respected and valued. Items in the store seemed unique and reasonably priced for handmade goods. Some of the items were kitschy so we ended up just purchasing some treats to take back home and...

I go here when I'm in Alaska visiting family for the summer, and order online when I'm home in NYC the rest of the year. I just love this store! All of the items are so smartly curated and it's such a pleasant shopping experience with friendly and helpful owner and workers. I've purchased some really pretty local art and crafts here at a decent price. When I'm not in Alaska, I regularly order lots of their wonderful creams and lotions, which are also pretty reasonably priced and made from the loveliest, freshest, most fragrant Alaska-grown ingredients. This is such a special store and I'm glad I have access to it in person or...