GIRARD- According to vintage candy and T-shirt store owner Linda Barton, customers typically react in awe when they first walk into Sweet Memories Vintage Tees & Candy.
They frequently exclaim aloud,” I remember these, I remember those,” Barton said. They are overcome with memories of candy and sodas from their youth.
With a new toy shop that is 2, 500 square feet big and filled with vintage games from years past, including the standard Big Wheel, Lite-Briege, Shrinky Dinks, Operation, Twister, Mouse Trap, and action images from G. I. Joe to Star Wars to pop culture and film figures, Barton hopes to recreate the same kind of experience.
Barton remarked about how she curated the selection,” I wanted to have everything from parents to fresh children.”
Through a collaboration with the Idora Park Experience, which has donated products from its collection, including one of the sizable metal” Kiddieland Soldiers” that after guarded the entrance to Kiddiedand at the original amusement park in Youngstown, as well as Porky the Paper Eater, to display, the room, an addition to the chocolate and T-shirt keep on Trumbull Avenue in Girard, even nods to local history.
A registration deal for Barton to offer a range of Idora Park clothing and drink is also included in the relationship with the Canfield-based company. A part of the sales revenue will be donated to the company to help it keep the artifacts in its collection safe.
STARTING DOWN
When Barton announced that she had decided to add products to the store in August, she went about compiling a list of the top 10 products from each generation beginning in the 1940s and beginning her search for the products.
She claimed to have spent about$ 150, 000 to store the business while attending a toy fair in September at the Javits Center in New York City.
Barton said, snapping her hands,” After that, the supplies started coming in.”
She started renovating the area at the shop that had previously been used for storage for the chocolate and T-shirt shop around the same time. She spent an additional$ 50,000 to rewrite the roof and floors, upgrade the heating and ventilation system, and set up a glass door.
Barton remarked,” Doing the research was enjoyable.” ” I do things very quickly.”
A string was cut on Wednesday to commemorate the new space, which also happened to coincide with its smooth opening. A great entry is planned for November 24th, Black Friday.
Santa Claus does visit the store on November 25 and a rum bread tasting with Tortuga Rum Cakes will be served. Additionally, the chocolate and T-shirt retailer may introduce its range of Goetze Candy Company, which produces Cow Tails and Caramel Creams.
INVENTORY
Barton claimed that she bought products from at least 20 different businesses. From people who want the toys they used or wanted as a child to kids and child, the company’s products has products suitable for all generations.
A sizable vintage electronic football game, the initial Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs, Barton’s favorite item, Fashion Plate, and Sit’n Spin are among the items. Additionally, there are railways from Lionel, a wall of action characters, another walls made of Pez, various table games, Paintball, Fisher Price, and items related to creativity and STEM.
She also had a female astronomer figure on hand.
I’ve always seen a girl astronaut before, so that’s why I bought them, according to Barton.
She also owns Lego, but in order to do so, she had to submit a business plan, allow the business to examine her financial documents for three years, and undergo background checks.
She said,” I created the visual so that when persons enter, they see the things they remember.”
LICENSING
At this year’s Canfield Fair, Barton claimed to have met Jim and Toni Amey, the masters of the Idora Park Experience. The three came to an agreement allowing Barton to offer a range of garden T-shirts and beverages that are formally licensed. To help protect and restore area products, a portion of the beer revenue and$ 5 for each T-shirt sold are donated to the Idora Park Experience.
Another new T-shirt certificates include Mentos, Goetze, Beemans candy, and Bazooka Joe.
Numerous other brands, such as Great Fun, Isaly’s, Dots and Junior Mint, as well as Necco, Klondike, Peep, Smarties, Breyers, Popsicle, and others, have licenses.
The National Packard Museum in Warren, garments licenses from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as jerseys from St. Anthony, Saint Francis and Padre Pio, are also available at the shop.
A part of the price is always donated in some way.
Wealth is donated to Akron Children’s Hospital from the food, chocolate, and sweets-related shirts. She has so far given the medical system about$ 40,000, according to Barton, who attributes it to saving her daughter’s life when she was a young child.
Because of her kindness, Akron Children’s has since given a place at its doctor the name Boardman. Room No. 1 is Nice Memories Vintage Tees. 247 inside the building.
The Packard collection returns to the museum, the Saints collection goes to Franciscan Friars of Youngstown, and the military line benefits a spiritual program that aids military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.