The Pen Place
Inside a tiny 750-square-foot store on the ground floor of Crown Center, you’ll find a store out of a different era.
Pen Place (2450 Grand Blvd., Suite 111, Kansas City, Mo. 816-474-7500) has been open since 1968 and sells primarily pens (their best guess is about 2,500 different writing implements in stock) plus a small selection of leather goods, stationary and briefcases.
Options range from a $4.50 rollerball to a $495 Montblanc Starwalker.
Pen Place clerk Christen Lacy has seen all kinds of customers in her six years there. The shop has recently seen an influx of high school students weaned on tablets who are rediscovering the joys of penmanship.
“We have tourists come in and business people who just want a fine writing instrument to compliment their attire,” Lacy says. “We also have pen addicts. One lady comes in once a week on Mondays when I’m here, and sometimes she’ll buy three to four pens and spend over $100 each time she’s here just because she loves pens so much.”
