YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown Clothing Co., an apparel shop devoted to local and regional themes, will leave its current location in the Southern Park Mall for a free-standing retail store at 3801 Boardman-Canfield Road, Canfield, said its founder and co-owner.
“We’ve been looking at several locations for over a year,” said Matthew McClure. He noted that the new building, a former Huntington National Bank branch, is ideal for the shop’s future.
“We just got a good feeling from it and thought that we could make it into a really nice retail location,” he said.
According to records from the Mahoning County Auditor’s office, an affiliate of Youngstown Clothing Co., Industrial Might LLC, purchased the former bank building for $1 million on June 10. The bank closed its branch in January.
“We were limited on space at our current location and have been looking to get more retail space and grow,” McClure said. He expects to be moved in by the end of this summer. “Sometime in September we should be open,” he said.
Youngstown Clothing Co. designs and sells apparel such as T-shirts, ball caps, sweatshirts and hoodies that promote local and regional nostalgia. These items feature designs reflecting the region’s steelmaking past, Idora Park, Mill Creek Park, and pop culture favorites such as the late U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. and Brier Hill pizza.
McClure said he started the business nearly 10 years ago, and it was time to relocate as it expands its product line.
“We’ll have an entire new Canfield Fair collection – up to 14 shirts all new,” he says. “We’ll definitely have some new Youngstown State and Ohio State stuff, ready for football season,” he said.
McClure added that Youngstown Clothing Co. has also secured new partnerships with Knoll Run Golf Course and the Youngstown Playhouse to commemorate its centennial.
He said he’s bittersweet about leaving the mall, since its where the company first started. “I love the mall. They’re always very supportive. It’s just the natural progression of business. Next year will be our 10th year.”
In November, the business opened its second location in the Eastwood Mall, McClure said. “We’re building it up out that way and looking for Warren and Trumbull businesses to partner with.”