Avenida 3 de Noviembre (Avenida 4 Este), which runs past Parque Cervantes northeast toward Avenida Obaldía, is a crowded commercial street with many shops hawking inexpensive clothes and household goods and such.

There is an ever-expanding mall on the Interamericana at the crossroads with the road to Boquete. A slightly older shopping center, Chiriquí Mall, is a few kilometers west of David on the Interamericana. It’s never really taken off, but it has a multiplex, a branch of El Hombre de la Mancha bookstore (tel. 774-1174, 10 a.m.–7 p.m. daily), fast-food stalls, clothing stores, and so on.

Those who’d like to take back some good-quality Chiriquí highland coffee without going to the Chiriquí highlands can buy gourmet-roast Café Ruiz coffee, one of the finest in Panama, at the Super Barú supermarket (Interamericana and Avenida Obaldía, 7 A.M.–midnight Mon.–Sat., 8 A.M.–10 P.M. Sun.). It’s one of the few stores in Panama that carry the gourmet roast. Other kinds of Café Ruiz are more widely available.