Growth Report 2: Sweet Memories Vintage Tees Expands

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP – Sweet Memories Vintage Tees last year expanded its location at 1282 Trumbull Ave. and added a retro toy and game section.

The store has an extensive selection of vintage candy and T-shirts bearing the logo of many of those candy brands. “It’s all about the ‘retailtainment,’ nostalgia and the experience,” says Linda Barton, founder and owner.

Barton launched Sweet Memories in 2020 after being granted the license to use Good Humor Ice Cream’s logo on apparel for the brand’s 100th anniversary.

“We’ve become the largest manufacturer of licensed candy apparel on the East Coast, as well as a destination shopping experience,” Barton says.

“Our brand portfolio is still expanding,” Barton says. “We are starting 2024 with some new contracts, with great brands like Bazooka Joe, Mentos, Melody Pop, Chupa Chups and Ring Pop soon to launch by the second quarter.”

Sweet Memories last year partnered with The Idora Park Experience. It created a licensed T-shirt and vintage soda collection that bear the park’s logo.

Sweet Memories donates 20% of its T-shirt sales to Akron Children’s Hospital-Boardman. In 2023, the store raised $22,830 for the hospital, and $46,556 overall, Barton says.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.