No trip to San Juan Bautista would be complete without a visit to the unique businesses on Third Street. And standing out among them are two shops owned by Patricia Bains, Mrs. B’s Z-Place and Mrs. B’s Z-Place Annex.
While the original Z-Place, which opened in 1998, focuses on vintage clothing and antiques, the Annex features an eclectic mix of gifts and collectibles stressing Black artists and aspects of Black history.
“I consider myself a unique being with a multicultural background,” Bains said. “I am part African American and Native American, and I have always had a desire to learn more about my heritage. Africa is considered the mother country of all nations so, to me, Black history is my history and everybody’s history.”
Black History Month has been celebrated in the U.S. in February since 1976 as a way to celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans.
Bains opened her first shop in 1998, after spending 30 years selling real estate in the Bay Area where she also, along with her husband Dante Bains, owned a trucking business.
“We decided to get out and have a life,” she said. “We ended up in San Juan, which has been a blessing. I have always been interested in antiques and fashion and this has been a great location.”
When a spot became available next door to the original shop, Bains expanded, creating the Annex. It gave her a chance to stock more items that reflect her cultures and interests.
“I like to portray my heritage because I am proud of it,” she said. “I think the contributions that Africa and African Americans have made are innumerable and that is why I try to bring forth as much of that history as I can.”
One of Bains’ featured artists is Thomas Blackshear, with his series of Black Visions figurines.
“He starts with paintings and then sculpts what he has painted,” she said. “My husband gave me one of his pieces many years ago and I fell in love with it. Every one of them emotes and has a story behind it. And you can see the detail and the love he puts into his work.”
Bains stocks a large selection of Black-themed books from the Visions of America series, which are archives of historical photographs.
“My husband and I are avid readers and we trained our children to read,” she said. “So I carry a lot of books that tell you about African Americans in different locations and times in history. They cover churches, slavery and the aspects of African American life in this country.”
One recent addition to her inventory is a collection of mounted photographs of Black entertainers and historical figures. One that particularly resonates with her is a photograph of four young men at the 1960 Greensboro, North Carolina lunch counter sit-in, protesting the establishment’s whites-only seating policy.
“My mom and I would go to Durham, North Carolina, to shop,” she said. “We had been shopping all day and we were tired. We wanted to get some lunch and the waitress at the restaurant told us, ‘you can buy your food here but you can’t sit down and eat it.’ I was already seated and my mom told me, ‘You stay there.’ She asked to speak to the manager but the waitress kept telling us, ‘you can’t sit.’ Finally, the manager came out and told us that ‘we don’t allow you folks to eat here.’ So we just kept sitting there. And the next week, there was a sit-in at that place and a month later they started the one at Greensboro.”
Bains’ careful curation of her store means there are items you can’t find in shopping malls or big box stores.
“I think that our mentality in this country is not as straightforward as it should be as far as diversity,” she said. “That is why I push so hard to make the store reflect that I am proud of who I am and proud of my heritage. I am trying to bring beauty, knowledge, class, dignity, and a way of stepping outside and taking an adventure that will benefit you. It is good to think about where you stand in history and what history is going to say about you.”
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