Rains Department Store

Visited Ojai during a Backroads Bike Tour. Shopped at Rains and purchased 5 large bottles of Ojai Olive Oil Co. Provençale Organic Extra-​Virgin Olive Oil. My purchase was on a Thursday afternoon – shipment arrived one week later in excellent condition – shipped and perfectly packed as promised. Shipping was only $ 16.00 California to South Carolina. Checked luggage would have cost more. Thank you, Rains! Well done.

One of my favorite places to stop in when visiting Ojai. It’s an honest to goodness Old School Department Store, only nicer and more upscale. They have just about everything you can think of, from local goods to decorative accent, women’s and men’s clothes, and even hardware. I always find something interesting at Rains, whether it’s and interesting gadget for the house or kitchen or a new outfit.

Rains is the anchor of downtown Ojai shopping. It’s always very tastefully arrayed with a unique blend of merchandise.
The clothing selections are skewed to an older country club set, with prices to match. They are mostly in vibrant colors, though. That brings a resort feel to the offerings. They shake it up a bit with a large selection of Life is Good tees in fun designs.
They carry Ojai Valley goods, including lotions and soaps. There are also some gourmet food items, garden decorations, art pieces, household gadgets. An eclectic mix!
With high ceilings, it feels spacious. Full retail prices means it can be a budget buster. You’ll find goods you don’t see everywhere, which might justify a splurge.
A bonus: They offer complementary gift wrapping.

The Crow water feature in the window REALLY beckoned me to come into the store. RAINS is a great treasure that exists in downtown Ojai. The fact that the store has been in business for over 100 years is testament to the great staff and excellent selection of product from housegoods to clothing & shoes and gifts and Chimes. If the prices are a little high, I didn’t notice it based upon the selection and quality of goods that they carry. The crows brought me in but I ended up buying a serving plate made in Turkey, and a set of windchimes to put around my koi pond. I walked out leaving them $ 271. NO… I DID NOT BUY THE CROWS … Great store Great staff.
Steve F
Manhattan Beach

Stopped in here the other week to try to find a baking pan sized in between my mini pans and regular pans. Didn’t really find that, but did go home with a fantastic new vegetable slicer that I found while browsing. I was helped by two different employees and they were both upbeat and enthusiastic helpers. I find the prices here a little high, but the service is great and the quality of their product is also very high. I love going through their kitchen, baking and cooking accessories. That’s my favorite part of the store!

Happiness, that what I feel walking into this store. After all, a store that has existed for 100 years has to be doing something right.
From local honey to handmade sweaters to kitchen gadgets and wind chimes, the selection is broad and varied. Yes, it’s a tad on the pricey side, however, these are items you may not otherwise find under one roof.
It warrants a stop when visiting Ojai, that’s for sure.

What’s not to love about this small, indie Ojai institution? They have a little of nearly everything, many independent brands you won’t find anywhere else, great unique artisan items, old-​fashioned home supplies, and a friendly staff. Some of the prices can be a little steep, but when you compare to Macy’s, you’re getting better quality. I never go to Ojai without a trip here. I hope Rains remains for generations to come. It’s so great the a small town department store is still enjoying success.

Welcome to Rains, where the customer is always wrong and returning an item can threaten your sanity. I bought a Zyliss Smart Touch Salad Spinner at Rains. Worked great for a couple of months and then the plastic gear started slipping and it wasn’t drying the lettuce. Tried to return it and was rudely told that in their estimation it was fine — no refund. I said I’d give it another shot but I wanted a refund if it didn’t work again. It didn’t work. Many complaints about this item, for this very problem, all over the Internet. Took it back again. I get an argument. («Works fine for me» they insist). The manager comes out. He couldn’t be bothered and din’t want to hear about it. He rudely stuffed the item back in it box, prepared to sell to the next sucker. «He’ll just keep coming back,» said the cashier smugly to the manager as she gave me cash. I’ve never had a retail experience this bad anywhere at anytime. Beware the Zyliss Smart Touch Salad Spinner at Rains. Could be re-​stocked defective good.

One of the great things about visiting Ojai is Rains. So much fun to step in and browse. And yes, I bought a few things too. I couldn’t help it. They have clothes, kitchenware, gardenware, foodie items. Staff is friendly.

Went in totally by accident and realized this place has been there for a 100 years, wow!!!
So cute, and the staff was very friendly. So many nice and locally-​made items, it made me happy. We bought an adorable bird feeder, happy to give my money to these guys than to a corporate chain store :)

Great fun store

I love this place for women’s clothing. They get some quality designs in. They carry a lot of made in USA items and the brands they carry tend to be generous on sizing which is nice. I always find something here that is a little different but pretty — people always seem to give me positive feedback when I wear my Rains acquired clothes.

Almost everyone has it right. This store has a little bit of everything, not a lot of anything, and some neat stuff you probably won’t expect. It’s fun to putter around here. The prices aren’t low, of course, but I’d rather pay a bit more to support local business instead of just feeding the Macy’s conglomerate.

This place is super cute and a great place to check out while walking around in downtown Ojai. However, being a quaint department store doesn’t necessarily make it a great place to purchase items.
My overall impression of the store was that it caters mostly to the 50+ crowd. Prices are about what you would expect in a tourist town but not crazy. I would have liked to have seen more locally made items in the store and more items that would appeal to someone in their 20s-​30s.

Love Rains Department Store. Always happy to see them still in business, after decades of service. A local department store is not going to have a ton of variety, but they always seem to have what their community wants. Folks in the Ojai area don’t always want to drive to Ventura or Oxnard to shop, so Rains is a great local resource. They aren’t going to have the massive selection of a giant chain store, but I find the hyper-​selection of those giant stores to be overkill.
I find the store to be clean, friendly, and laid out well. None of that corporate fill-​every-​single-​inch with stuff, here. You can actually shop the merchandise easily, and there’s always someone on hand to answer questions (try that in Target or even Macys.)
For those that write that they felt weird because the staff is «patrolling the aisles.» I guess you’re too young to remember how it felt to shop in a real store. Not very long ago, a department store had actual staff members working the floor, to assist customers. This is what service was like, so I’m sure it must feel weird if you’ve never experienced it. Now the big stores, even the premium ones, it’s self-​service, and hope to find someone at the cash register across the store. ;) For those that write that Rains is «trying to do something different.» No this is what department stores were like until corporations took them over and turned them into self service warehouses. Rains is not trying to be anything but. Rains. And they’ve been doing it for decades. So happy to see that some stores have been able to stay true to their roots. Love shopping there, always find something amazing.

This is a good old old-​fashioned department store in the true sense of the word. The sell everything from clothing to kitchen utensils and light bulbs … just to give an example. Staff is very friendly and reasonably knowledgeable about what they sell.

Ojai reminds me of what life used to be like before huge chain stores descended upon America. Rains is a unique department store smack in the middle of downtown Ojai. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. We happened to stop by the weekend after Thanksgiving, and they were having a huge sale. We were able to find some great holiday gifts and the discount helped b/​c items are a bit pricey (as it isn’t Walmart!) Friendly staff and not in your face.

We visit this store every time we are in Ojai and since we live only about 30 minutes away it is a no-​brainer.
I am not very impressed with their selection of items because their inventory does not change at all — for me, I would like to see a little more variety. The other somewhat disconcerting aspect of this store is that they have staff «patrolling» the aisles and every time we go in there I have the uneasy feeling that they are scrutinizing my every move like they have a lot of theft and every customer is suspect.

This random department store in downtown Ojai.
I really don’t know what to compare this place to… it’s not like anything.
I like the locally made items that they carry (jams/​soaps/​etc.) but the other stuff is pretty meh.
In the back of this «department store», there’s this quaint rock formation outdoor area where there are always folk musicians outside… so that’s something you could check out as well.

A department store with a twist. It felt like it was trying to break the mold a bit. I appreciated that and had myself a looksee. They’ve got your clothing that is not locally made. They also have some different labels that are not so typical in a place such as this. On the other side, there are household products as well. What stood out to me however, is that they have local items such as soaps for one. Perhaps, they are thinking outside the box and not focusing on chinese goods only. Who knows, maybe they might start a new trend and even embrace a little more local into their world. I encouraged their behavior and bought the local soap (the one with Ojai on it).