Downtown Chillicothe is getting a new boutique shop on Second Street.
The Tecumseh Trading Co. will hold its official grand opening on Wednesday May 10th with a full day of events and sales.
The Scioto Society, producers of the Outdoor Drama, Tecumseh!, has had a large presence in the downtown Chillicothe area for over 25 years. Business offices were located in a number of locations throughout the downtown area until a property was purchased adjacent to the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheater about 15 years ago.
With all of the excitement about downtown revitalization, CEO Brandon Smith began looking for a way to have a presence again, and to help lead the effort in driving tourism to the area.
“The mission of the Scioto Society is to create and support economic activity in our community. What is happening downtown right now with small shops like Totem and Market No.9, new restaurants and coffee shops, the Majestic Theatre expanding their offerings…it was obvious to me and the board that we had a directive in our mission to help push the effort forward. While we have been supportive in small roles such as helping to raise dollars for the Mighty Children’s Museum, sponsoring events at the Majestic and holding our annual fundraiser downtown, we wanted to do even more. It simply does not make operational sense to move our office back downtown, but a shop and ticket outlet fit both the mission and the neighborhood perfectly.” Said Smith.
“We began looking for space in earnest about six months ago. Ed Kunzelman and I met a couple of times and looked at a couple of spaces. We liked this one for it’s location, right next door to the Paints, less than a block from the Majestic and right in the middle of two new restaurants opening within the year. We also bought in to what the Nipgen Corner LLC people are trying to do on Second Street. If they succeed in pulling it all off it will be one of the great success stories in revitalizing small town America, and the second such recent large scale success in Chillicothe after the Carlisle Building project. I wouldn’t want us to be anywhere else.”
The shop will carry a variety of items concentrating on handmade Native American art and collectibles, locally made goods, books, jewelry and art. There will also be a large selection of rare Allan W. Eckert books some of which came directly from his personal library. Shoppers will also be able to purchase tickets to events at the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheater including Tecumseh, the Accurate Heating & Cooling Bluegrass Series, Shakespeare and Haunted Mountain.
“We’re concentrating on items that you can’t get anywhere else in Chillicothe. We want to compliment the shops already downtown, not compete with them. I think our jewelry selection will be very interesting and unique and the variety of Native American made goods will be among the best available at any shop in the state. We won’t carry large amounts of any one item, the idea being that when it’s gone it’s gone and we get to go find some other cool item to offer," said Smith.
For its May 10th Grand Opening, the shop will host a variety of events throughout the day beginning with free hot dogs from the Haute Doggery and live music from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. At 4:00 p.m., the official ribbon cutting with the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce will be held. The day will wrap up with a wine reception from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Special sales will also be going on throughout the day, including tee shirts for only $5, and one person will win a pair of tickets to every event on Sugarloaf Mountain in 2017.
The Tecumseh Trading Co. is located at 13 E. Second Street. Initial hours will be Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.