History Main / SecretShop

* In the Los Angeles Athletic Club, there is a BookcasePassage hiding the door to the Blue Room bar, which was launched in 1912. This bar hosted Hollywood stars such as Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino and Charlie Chaplin duringits heyday.

But then there is that one shop, whose proprietor takes the opposite approach

* During TheRoaringTwenties, alcohol was prohibited, so there were illegal speakeasy bars with hidden entrances.

Maybe it's just ludicrously hard to find or get to, maybe you need a keycard or you have to tell the shopkeeper a passcode, or it's behind a [[BookcasePassage revolving bookcase]], or maybe only the king is allowed to shop there naked during a full moon while holding a child's teddy bear in one hand and the SwordOfPlotAdvancement in the other. Maybe some combination thereof. Either way, expect getting in to this place to be harder than getting to your local department store.

Maybe it's just ludicrously hard to find or get to, maybe you need a keycard or passcode, or it's behind a [[BookcasePassage revolving bookcase]], or maybe only the king is allowed to shop there naked during a full moon while holding a child's teddy bear in one hand and the SwordOfPlotAdvancement in the other. Maybe some combination thereof. Either way, expect getting in to this place to be harder than getting to your local department store.

So how does this shop stay in business? That would be their secondary defining feature: this shop sells the good stuff, and for lots of money. If purchasable, this is the place where one would buy the InfinityPlusOneSword, some spare GreenRocks, or a WaveMotionGun. You need to be an insider and have the secret to getting in, making it an exclusive shop. Sometimes a selection of secret shops will cluster together into a hidden, secret mall.

So how does this shop stay in business? That would be their secondary defining feature: this shop sells the good stuff, and for lots of money. If purchasable, this is the place where one would buy the InfinityPlusOneSword, some spare GreenRocks, or a WaveMotionGun. You need to be an insider and have the secret to getting in, making it an exclusive shop.

and hides their shop, even making this their shop's defining feature is how hard it is just to get in.

Maybe it's just ludicrously hard to find or get to, maybe you need a keycard or passcode, or it's behind a [[BookcasePassage resolving bookcase]], or maybe only the king is allowed to shop there naked during a full moon while holding a child's teddy bear in one hand and the SwordOfPlotAdvancement in the other. Maybe some combination thereof. Either way, expect getting in to this place to be harder than getting to your local department store.

Most businesses follow a pattern: you need something to sell, you need people to buy it, and you need to make more money than you spent every time someone DOES buy it. This is pretty simple to understand.

But then there is that one shop, whose proprietor takes lack of advertising to another level: this shop's defining feature is how hard it is just to get in. Maybe it's just ludicrously hard to find or get to, maybe you need a keycard or passcode, or maybe only the king is allowed to shop there naked during a full moon while holding a child's teddy bear in one hand and the SwordOfPlotAdvancement in the other. Maybe some combination thereof. Either way, expect getting in to this place to be harder than getting to your local department store.

So how does this shop stay in business? That would be their secondary defining feature: this shop sells the good stuff, and for lots of money. If purchasable, this is the place where one would buy the InfinityPlusOneSword, some spare GreenRocks, or a WaveMotionGun.

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* Some ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games have secret shops, which are slightly-different-looking tiles of floor in out-of-the-way locations, all run by the unofficial SeriesMascot Anna. You require a member's card to get in, which can only be obtained by stealing one from enemies, and the prices can be downright exorbitant. Discussed in ''Shadow Dragon'', as quoted above - Jake, Anna's boyfriend, admits that business isn't looking so good for them ''because'' they're a secret shop.

* The Black Market in ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 3}}'' sells some pricy stuff, and you need a Black Card to get in.

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But then there is that one shop, whose proprietor takes lack of advertising UpToEleven: this shop's defining feature is how hard it is just to get in. Maybe it's just ludicrously hard to find or get to, maybe you need a keycard or passcode, or maybe only the king is allowed to shop there naked during a full moon while holding a child's teddy bear in one hand and the SwordOfPlotAdvancement in the other. Maybe some combination thereof. Either way, expect getting in to this place to be harder than getting to your local department store.

* The shops in the Thieves' Guild in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. At first, there's only your fence (plus a bartender) selling stuff, who must stay secret by necessity to avoid being persecuted by the few honourable city guards left in Riften. When you first show up, both the bar and the Thieves' Guild itself are both down on their failing luck. Once (if) you restore the Thieves' Guild to its former glory, more shops show up. From the player's point-of-view, they're secret because you have to unlock them by finishing an entire questline plus a lot of sidequests. From everyone else's point-of-view, they're secret because the Thieves' Guild isn't exactly on Main Street...

* [[InvokedTrope Done deliberately]] in ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo''; when [[CloudCuckooLander Largo]] is asked to watch over Mega Gamers, he installs a [[CrazyAwesome fully functional maze of cardboard robots and obstacles]]... which turns out to be outrageously popular.

SisterTrope to BlackMarket and TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday.

* In ''{{Mabinogi}}'', several of the regular stores have "secret shop" tabs, which can only be accessed when you become friends with the owner, or some such; these shops typically have costlier, more useful items. Plus, there are 2 {{NPC}}s who wander from town to town; finding them requires either luck, stakeout and patience, or a guide.

-->'''Kay''': "You sold [[TechnoBabble a reverberating carbonizer with mutate capacity]] to an unlicensed cephalopoid, Jeebs, you piece of shit..."
-->'''Jeebs''': "He looked all right to me. "

* Diagon Alley in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. To even see the front of the store that leads into the back alley that has one brick which must be tapped to get there, you need to be a witch or wizard. Or maybe a squib.

* The question of, "who makes every character's costume" was answered in ''Amazing Spider-Man #502'', which introduced Leo Zelinsky. A tailor from Brooklyn, he doesn't do much to keep his business secret except what small business owners like himself always rely on - using only word of mouth to advertise - but he caters to just about ''every'' super-human in the Marvel Universe, heroes and villains alike. (Why does he see nothing wrong with this? As he explains, "If Doctor Octopus goes into a deli and orders a cheese sandwich and the clerk gives it to him, does that make the clerk a bad man? Everyone has to eat, everyone needs clothes.") To avoid conflicts between the heroes and villains, his shop is open for the first group on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, the second on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. He also maintains a strict confidentiality policy for all of his clients, only breaking it once in order to prevent a murder. Otherwise, his clients have included such big names as ComicBooks/TheAvengers, ComicBooks/{{X-Men}}, and SelfDemonstrating/DoctorDoom.

* Wallace has a not-so-incredibly secret shop in the ''[[VideoGame/ScottPilgrim Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'' game. [[spoiler:It's marked with a star near the end of the first level]].

* Subverted in [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Terry Prattchet's]] ''Discworld/SoulMusic''.