HUGHESVILLE, Pa. — Mark's Outfitters sits on South Main Street in Hughesville. The store opened in 1925 and will mark its 100th anniversary next year. Chenelle Thomas purchased the nearly century-old business from Mark Armstrong last May.
"He was actually getting his snow plow fixed, and he's like, I'm thinking about selling the store, and my brother was fixing his snow plow. He's like, why don't you say something to my sister? She's in the middle of buying a bar. Maybe she'll buy it, so six months later, it was ours," said Chenelle Thomas, President/CEO of Mark's Outfitters.
Mark's Outfitters started out as a shoe store and has grown into a clothing store for men, women, and children. Thomas decided to have a week-long celebration in honor of her first full year in business and the store's 99th.
"So Wednesday, we owned it for a year, so like today was our big part of the open house, and we're doing specials, getting rid of some inventory that might be a little older or something that doesn't move a whole lot for us so that way we can get more product in," said Thomas.
Since taking over the businesses, Thomas has opened up the store so customers are able to move around and shop more easily.
"Seeing them kind of give us another try again and almost have like that weight lifted off of their shoulders that this is a breath of fresh air, just new—new age, new era, new merchandise, new brands, and they are very receptive to that which is comforting to us," said Mel Badger, Sales Associate at Mark's Outfitters.
Shelia Barto has been a customer at Mark's Outfitters for over 25 years. She says the customer service and clothing selection keeps her coming back.
And I just like the feel that it has, it's been here for a long time, it just feels right, and again, back to customer service, you get treated like somebody that's very important to this business, and they value you and your purchase," said Shelia Barto of Hughesville.
Thomas says owning a store with such a rich history is a dream come true.
"The fact that Mark made it through is huge, and the fact that we can still—like, we're still doing really well, I'm very happy that we bought it, like I think we're getting more clientele in, bringing people, you know, more into the area."
If you missed the week-long one-year anniversary sales at Mark's Outfitters you can still shop them on Saturday.