Youngstown, Ohio – Co-owners of Spruce Home Décor & Gift say they’re looking forward to opening their third store in the Chautauqua establishment in New York state.
Nick Giancola said Spruce, which has locations in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, expects the new store to open full time on June 13, after a minor opening a few weekends ago.
Giancola and his sister Erica Lewis opened their first store on the Nile in 2014. Five years later, they opened their second store in Boardman in a retail space shared with OH Donut Co.
“It seems to fit the community,” he said. “Our style corresponds to the style of the institution and what needs are there.”
Located on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in southwestern New York State, the Chautauqua Foundation is a nonprofit learning center and summer resort that “works year-round to explore the best of human values by creating programs that spark questions and conversations about the most important issues in the world,” said Emily Morris, Foundation Vice President and Brand Director. .
She said the institution “comes to life in its prime during the summer months”, attracting around 100,000 people.
The idea for the third site arose from trips to the Chautauqua Foundation that Giancola made with her husband. He had long believed that he would like to open a shop there “down the road”. Among the different businesses that already exist, he saw “a void in the market when it comes to home goods and unique gifts, so we kind of fit in that aisle that wasn’t there,” he said.
“They just felt like this community was missing something and we had it here in Youngstown, obviously, in Spruce,” Lewis confirmed.
During last year’s visit, Giancola saw that an existing company was no longer renting its space, so he began discussions with the foundation.
“The stars lined up,” he said.
Many people who come to the Chautauqua establishment have homes that have been in their families for generations, so Morris predicted the shop would be well received. The store will provide “another resource to make their homes more comfortable” and provide a new gift-giving option.
“Many of our members come here year after year, and they have great friendships that they only explore when they’re here in the summer,” she said.
Giancola said Chautauqua Spruce will offer the same merchandise as the Mahoning Valley stores, but will also feature different product lines that aren’t moved locally, “the self-satisfied stuff of summer retreat or lake merchandise.” In addition, there will be a greater focus in the new store on “interior services” such as interior design and furniture selection on a larger scale.
“It would be something different,” Lewis said.
The siblings will operate all three stores, with Giancola focusing on Chautauqua and Lewis to operate the Valley stores as well as Spruce’s online presence.
Giancola said he’ll be in town a few days a week and, during the peak weeks of the summer season, Lewis will join in Chautauqua “when two owners are in the shop well” and when retail business in general tends to go downhill. He noted that summer in Youngstown is not “high season for home décor”.
“This gave us an opportunity to create a summer destination on a lake and sort of fill a void where we might be lacking in our Youngstown market,” he said. “Our time frees up a bit in the summer so we can shift our focus and allocate time and resources to a third location that is more of a people destination.”
Plans include hiring up to three part-time employees. Starting June 13, the store will be open daily during the summer and then reduce opening hours in the fall.
“And then we’ll see what happens in the winter,” he added. Many places are close to the complex due to the nature of their winter weather. “So in the first year, we will definitely feel that and then we also talk to other companies and see what this year holds,” he said.
Pictured above: Partners Erica Lewis and Nick Giancola
Copyright 2022 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
