Ohio Station Outlets brought in seven new local businesses this year

LODI — While the number of national retailers at Ohio Station Outlets has been dwindling over time, seven new local businesses opened there this year, giving hope that the shopping center may be reinventing itself. The outlet mall opened in the late 1990s and is more than 300,000 square feet, Ohio Station Outlets General Manager Heather Broadsword said. The outlets began facing struggles with keeping tenants a few years ago. "I think that it all started in 2019," she said. "I think we lost like seven stores that year. It was stores that were filing bankruptcy, going out of business, just going online (or) not having brick-and-mortar stores anymore." The pandemic led to greater challenges for Ohio Station Outlets because there was a lack of foot traffic and events, she said. "Since the beginning of COVID, we have lost 20 tenants going out of business nationally," she said. "We also had to close for a month and a half when the governor mandated that. We ended up losing all of the rest of our food courts. They could not come back after that. People were not shopping." The corporate office is in charge of leasing national brands, she said. It can take up to a year to open a store for a national retailer. There are currently about 10 throughout the outlet mall. "We've had pretty much most of the national brands here, and they probably won't come back," Broadsword said. "The traffic does not warrant it at this time." Yet, many local businesses began searching for a brick-and-mortar store over the past few years, she said. Interested local businesses have contacted her looking for a space, which has shifted the direction of the outlets. "People are still shopping even with the economy and inflation, and I think it's a positive thing," she said. "We're still able to keep the doors open. There's many people that have jobs here." Greg and Raven Contrascier are the co-owners of GRC Appliance Specialists LLC, which is a business that buys, sells and repairs new and used appliances. The large space for a showroom attracted them to the outlets. "We needed somewhere that had a nice-looking showroom where there was more traffic coming through (and) people walking by," Raven Contrascier said. "The opportunity to be able to serve more people was there." GRC Appliance Specialists has made sales through walk-in customers, but Raven Contrascier said she hopes to see even more customers come by in the future. "Hopefully the outlet mall will become a little bit (busier), which it seems like it has started to pick up more," she said. All Overstock, owned by Richard Hostettler, is a store that sells overstocked items from big-box stores. All Overstock had a store in the outlets previously. He said he made the decision to come back because he believes brick-and-mortar stores will regain popularity. "It seems like shoppers want to get out this year and feel and touch it instead of ordering it online," he said. Hostettler said he believes national retailers in outlet malls are a thing of the past and that local businesses are the future. "You're getting a lot of local vendors into these outlet malls and reopening them up," he said. "I'm hoping that we keep continually getting local retailers (and) local business people to open it back up." Jessica Volke said she was inspired to open her selfie studio, Treat Yo Selfie, in the outlet mall because she was working part time at another local business in the outlets, Flick Brothers Liquidation, which had an empty store right next to it. "I was just walking around, and I peeked in the window next door," she said. "I saw this big, beautiful space with these big nooks in it, and I instantly thought this would be so perfect for a selfie studio. We could build the different sets in these already made nooks." Logan Valek similarly began working at the Aeropostale outlet before opening LMV Tack, which sells products for horses. She said she chose to open her store at Ohio Station Outlets because it was convenient and there aren't many stores in the area that sell the same kind of products. "A lot of my customers specifically drive to go to my store, but we do get people that are walking around who want to buy stuff too," she said. "It's been great, honestly." She hopes more people realize the variety and number of stores that are at the outlet mall now. "People come in and they're always like, there's only three stores here," Valek said. "There's close to 20 now, but you can't really tell. I just hope that the names of everybody gets out there more, so more people are willing to come out." The other new local businesses at Ohio Station Outlets are: Flick Brothers Liquidation, which sells overstocked items like home décor, books, records and more. Howlite Moon is a gift shop that sells tumbled stones, incense, dream catchers, stone carvings and crystal jewelry. Unique Boutique sells handmade accessories, home décor, gift baskets, holiday items, learning activities for children and more. Ohio Station Outlets still faces challenges because of a lack of traffic and not having food options and events, Broadsword said. Her hope for the future is to fill the existing empty spaces and give shoppers events and experiences to attend. "People are still asking about the train even though it's gone," she said. "They still want to have those experiences. I hope that we can get to a point where we can still have some kind of on-site entertainment for families to enjoy in the future." More stores intend to come into the outlets in 2023, Broadsword said. "We look forward to having lots of customers come out for Christmas shopping, and then we hope to continue leasing," she said. "I'm working on other leasing for other locations here." Many of the local business owners said they hope to see the outlet mall continue to grow in the future. Volke said she hopes Ohio Station Outlets can transform into a place where people go to support small businesses and buy unique items. "I think it's really cool that now it's growing more to be a space for small, local businesses," she said. "I think it's amazing. I've always been a big supporter of small businesses, and I love seeing all these little local stores pop up. I hope that keeps happening." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.