Things are changing at Flyover Country Sporting Goods. Now, don't worry.  I hate change as much as anyone, but this is a good change. Some of you might know that we tried to open a store a few years ago and it totally blew up in our face.  Our biggest supplier went dry, leaving us without a steady stream of product.  So we went back to work, set up new accounts with well known brands and continued working through online sales.  The business grew.  

One day, while driving through Newark, Ohio, I saw a for sale by owner sign on a vacant corner lot.  I called the owner, agreed to his asking price, and bought the property.  Little did I know what I had just done.  Even though there had been a retail store and two apartments at one time on the piece of land that I had just bought, current zoning regulations did not allow anything to be built on the property.  After hiring a lawyer, an architect, a surveyor, and a civil engineer ($$$$$$$$) and THREE, yes THREE trips to the Newark Board of Zoning Appeals (Who were GREAT to work with, and very accommodating) we got approval to build on the lot. Sooooo,  after 7 years of selling online and to local teams, leagues, and organizations, we have FINALLY begun the process of building our first retail store. The goal is to not borrow any money for this, so it may not happen overnight.  BUT we have begun.  I met with the surveyor today as he staked out the setbacks and building corners.  Then it was off to the Zoning and Engineering office to schedule the first inspection, which they did 3 hours later.  Seriously, the SAME DAY! All went well and we have a signed zoning permit and the all clear to begin excavating.  The goal for the summer of 2024 is to get the site developed and a pad for the building to sit on all done.  Stay tuned for developments. 

If you're in the Newark area, the lot is at 400 Mt. Vernon Rd (State route 13) just north of beautiful downtown Newark.  Seriously, if you haven't been to downtown Newark, it's worth the visit.  Over $130,000,000 has been spent revitalizing what was a sad, run down area and it is beautiful!!  We are so happy to be setting up our first store in this area and the folks at the City have so far been great to work with.