We ducked into a shop on the boardwalk in a beach side village in Portugal a couple years ago. All the shops sold local handcrafts, food and tourist trinkets, but none sold what we needed. Even down a side street, we didn’t see a store that might carry a phone charger.

“Bom dia! Do you have a phone charger?”

“No, sorry. But the Chinese shop [loja chinesa] should have one.” The Portuguese shop owner gestured down the sidewalk.

The Chinese shop wasn’t hard to find. And we’ve since learned that they are a standard establishment. Look for windows chocked full of household items with a Chinese businessman/woman sitting behind the register. Oftentimes it’s a husband and wife team. If they have young children, they are often in the shop as well.

Items are neatly arranged by theme– kitchen, office, school supplies, beach gear, etc. And, of course, chargers and adapters. If you need something, they probably have it. That’s what they’re good at– knowing what you will need and keeping it stocked. And just like where you shop back home, most items are made in China.

This week I’m in Venice, Italy, during an extreme heat wave. I didn’t look for a Chinese shop so I could buy a USB charged handheld fan, though they have those. I don’t need flip flops, index cards or a box of nails. They always have those too. I browsed the narrow aisles, along with some Italians, to find a rubber seal for a moka pot and sugar spoons (really small teaspoons we use to eat egg out of egg cups). They had no less than 12 different seal styles to pick from and three different styles of sugar spoons. Chinese shops have everything.

A young Chinese couple ran the shop. A toddler perched on his mom’s lap behind the cash register. She rang up my purchase while chatting on Facetime to an older woman. Perhaps her mother in China? With the time zone difference, it was a possibility.

Everybody goes to the Chinese shop at some point because only the Chinese shop has exactly what you need in a convenient location. It saves you the commute to a large chain store further away. Some Chinese shops have generic names. Some, like the one I went to today, didn’t have a name. I saw one once that was called China Store.

All are welcome. No bulls allowed.