Sustainability, local flair are key for this new State College shop. Take a look inside
A new shop offering locally themed gifts, apparel and home goods will soon open its doors in downtown State College.
Town Pride, a wholesale retailer specializing in custom goods, is opening its first full franchise store right in Penn State’s backyard at 240 E. Calder Way. The shop is expected to get started with a soft opening in late March before officially launching with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, April 4.
Over its four years as a company, Town Pride has quickly expanded across the country through its wholesale operations and, more recently, its launch of limited franchises, or specified Town Pride sections within existing stores. State College franchisee Lisa Farren said support from the corporate team has helped her feel confident while exploring a new venture for the company.
“Being the first full franchise, from a retailer’s point of view, is exciting because our success here in State College is hugely important to them,” Farren told the Centre Daily Times. “I think the energy and excitement we’re seeing from the corporate team is going to ripple right into the customer experience here in State College. They’re so excited about this. I think just about the whole team is going to be here for the grand opening.”
Inside the store, shoppers can expect to find a wide range of apparel, including crew neck sweatshirts, hats, scarves and more reflecting game day themes and Pennsylvania patronage. A good chunk of Town Pride’s inventory in State College comes in colors reflecting the Keystone State’s beloved sports teams, including Pittsburgh’s black and yellow hues and the Philadelphia Eagles’ iconic Kelly Green. Farren, a Mississippi State graduate, said she was excited to stock the shelves with gear featuring State High’s maroon and gray, which are shared by her alma mater.
Other items in the shop include glassware, puzzles, kitchen decor and dish towels featuring an artsy map of State College and the surrounding area. Farren said the shop’s inventory should rotate and change over time as new seasons arrive and new themes become popular.
Town Pride’s State College store already has a license to craft knitwear for Penn State’s sororities, Farren said. The company’s knitwear usually requires a minimum order of 18 products, which would prevent the store from keeping inventory for every sorority stocked at all times. The State College franchisee is hopeful business will boom with the help of Penn State’s sororities and other corporate groups and organizations in the area.
Nearly all Town Pride products are sourced and made in the U.S., Farren said, and the company strives to keep an “eco-conscious” mindset. Knitwear, for example, uses chemical-free yarn crafted with North American cotton, all in an effort to support U.S. and local economies while reducing the 100% woman-owned company’s carbon footprint.
“We try to get as much as we can sourced in the United States,” Farren said. “If we can’t literally get something – it’s really hard to get double-insulated bottles here, for instance – we have it finished in the United States. Everything is either made or finished in the U.S.”
Town Pride places an emphasis on sustaining a “give back” culture to support communities across the country, Farren said. State College’s store will get started on those efforts with a food drive benefiting the State College Food Bank. Those who visit the shop on April 5 and 6 can either bring a bag of donations worth $20 or donate $20 directly to receive 20% off their Town Pride order.
Farren hopes to continue forging relationships with local partners to keep philanthropy partnerships rolling along.
“We will run programs that work with local groups to help give back, whether that’s ending food insecurity, combating homelessness or contributing to a cleaner planet,” Farren said. “As consumers take pride in their town and shop to buy products that mean something to them, we’re going to do our best to give back to that place, too.”
“You kind of get what you give, and I’m a big believer in that,” she added.
‘It’s all fallen into place’
At its inception, Town Pride never thought it would open a full franchise store.
The wholesale retailer got its start in Yarmouth, Maine, where founder and President Tamara Moran sought to create products that embodied none other than pride for the area. After a chance meeting in State College between Farren and a Town Pride employee, Moran felt Happy Valley presented a great location for the company’s first full franchise store.
“Town Pride is really founded on community relationships and giving back, local love and all of that,” Moran said. “It was a great marriage of those things because [the Farrens] were the right people to talk to about the area. Penn State has the largest alumni network of any school, and there’s so much activity here. Once you layer all those things in, we figured this would be a fantastic first full franchise location.”
Back in May during the inaugural Hoppy Valley Brewers Fest, Farren hit it off with a Town Pride employee while enjoying a drink at Bill Pickle’s Tap Room and felt an immediate connection to the company. She quickly moved to bring some Town Pride products to the golf store she helped manage at Centre Hills Country Club, where her husband works as the head golf professional.
Later that summer, Farren continued her partnership with Town Pride by launching a six-week pop-up store in State College. She said positive reception from the limited-time venture helped her feel confident a franchise store could work, even though it all happened by chance.
“As I was working that pop-up and would talk to customers, it was really the locals who I felt wanted more,” said Farren, who moved to the area in 2021. “It was just one of those weird things where the different steps happened and you look back and think, ‘Wow. If I had not been at Pickle’s that day, or I had not had the opportunity for that pop-up…’ It’s funny how it’s all fallen into place.”
Work preparing the space for Town Pride’s opening was a bit easier thanks to its previous tenant, the leasing office for the new oLiv high-rise building. Some key fixtures — including lighting, shelves and new flooring — were already in place.
As the countdown to opening turns from weeks to days, Farren says she’s excited to lead the company’s latest venture and take another step in her career.
“For years, I raised my kids and worked for my husband,” Farren said. “I had a career before I had kids, but I spent 30 years raising them and working for him. So, it’s really fun to have something for me.”
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