This Underrated Southern Town Is Home To Mouth-Watering BBQ And America's Only Retailer Of Lost, Unclaimed Luggage

Hey, do you remember that one time in 1996 when American Airlines lost your luggage on the way to Ecuador? Neither do we. But you still might find your sweet Discman, with Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" still in it, at Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, Alabama. This most unusual-in-concept of stores has ballooned from its original, modest, 1978 opening to its present-day, lost-but-chic, high-end secondhand vibe. It's even got an online storefront that looks more like Banana Republic than an independent, family-owned store. And since America's only seller of unclaimed luggage has been conducting this tag sale for over 50 years, your mourned Discman might actually be there.

Buoyed by nothing but a $300 loan and a dream of hoarding and pawning misplaced objects, but in a reputable way, Doyle Owens set out in 1970 to live his best life. By 1978, he'd made his first deal with Eastern Airlines and started raking in stacks of lost bags, and also cash. Owens' store's success hasn't flagged once, and has grown and grown into the Scottsboro mainstay that it is today, complete with generational hand-off — just like an old concert t-shirt that might be found at Unclaimed Baggage — to his son, Bryan. They even opened the on-site Unclaimed Baggage Museum in 2023 full of curated kitsch, from medieval armor to a pristine lute. 

Unclaimed Baggage and its more-than-quirky museum make for a fantastic trip into the weird and discounted. Located on West Willow Street in northern Scottsboro, Alabama, it sits within striking distance of barbecue hotspots across town like Pappy's Place and Holy Smokes Barbecue. So why not comb through other people's once-beloved possessions and then refill some lost calories at one of Scottsboro's premium barbecue joints? 

When airlines lose luggage, recovering it can be a process, to the point that some people prefer to just bring one carry-on for a week-long vacation. Even though airlines typically reunite 99.5% of lost luggage with its owners right away, and conduct three months of searches for the rest, 0.03% of lost bags remain lost forever. This meager percentage is enough to stock Unclaimed Baggage with goods of every type imaginable. You can find electronics like Nintendo Switches, jewelry with estimated retail prices into the thousands, luxury goods like Coco Chanel handbags, and endless rows of sunglasses, shoes, watches, Kindles, clothes, beauty products, and more. Unclaimed Baggage even donates one item for every item sold, on average. These are all fantastic reasons to give this Scottsboro store, and by extension the town of Scottsboro, a visit.

But in case you need more of a nudge, there's humanity's most universal love: food. Scottsboro is stuffed with a ton of restaurants, particularly barbecue places. KC's BAR-B-Q, one of the more highly rated on Google, is less than 15 minutes away from Unclaimed Baggage, and looks like the kind of local place where you'd get a feel for Alabama barbecue and hospitality. You'll pass the quirky, well-regarded 50 Taters on the way, as well as McCutchen's Magnolia House, a more upscale, Southern food restaurant located in a beautifully decorated, late-19th-century farmhouse. These are just a handful of offerings around town.

And for those who want to transform a barbecue-filled excursion to Unclaimed Baggage into a road trip around Alabama, there's plenty of options. Spelunker and photographer favorite Stephen's Gap, an impressive underground cave system, sits only 15 minutes away from Scottsboro along Route 93. Meanwhile, outdoor lakeside fun and shopping sprees await at Lake Guntersville, down Route 79 about a half hour away.