The boutique-like gift shop inside Emory Johns Creek Hospital may just be one of the city's best-kept secrets. Or not, considering the shop won Johns Creek Patch's Readers Choice Award for Best Gift Shop.

Volunteer store manager Fran Wade attributes that popularity to the unique items she brings in. "Once [hospital] visitors shop here, they want to come back," she said.

Along with the usual items one might fight in a hospital gift shop, items such as purses and jewelry can be found at discounted prices as Wade is often able to buy wholesale items on clearance.

"I buy what I like," she says, and learns quickly if customers will like the same items. The store usually brings in $8,000 to $10,000 a month, and last year made $105,000. Operated solely by volunteers, all proceeds from the store fund nursing scholarships.

Wade and a team of some eight volunteers handle everything from purchase orders, inventory and tagging items.

To make way for holiday merchandise, the shop is having a sidewalk sale on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. These sales have proved popular for the store. "People get in line for this," Wade said.