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Petitti reinvests in Boardman location with store renovation
Company’s reinvestment allows Valley site to branch out, grow
BOARDMAN
Sixteen years after expanding to the Youngstown area, Cleveland-area chain Petitti Garden Center is reinvesting in its local store.
The company recently completed a $1.5 million-plus remodel of the facility at 5509 South Ave. The project included demolishing and rebuilding the store, modifying the greenhouse and expanding the nursery.
“It’s a whole different experience than what it was before,” said A.J. Petitti, company president and son of company founder Angelo Petitti. “It’s been so well received.”
Angelo started the company in 1971, with the flagship store opening in Oakwood Village. Petitti purchased the Boardman site from J&J Gardens in 2002, marking the company’s expansion outside of the Cleveland-Akron areas. Petitti has nine locations in Northeast Ohio.
The other stores are in Avon, Bainbridge, Brunswick, Canton, Mentor, Oakwood Village, Strongsville and Tallmadge. The company does not have any plans to expand outside Northeast Ohio at this time.
The South Avenue garden center dates back to the 1950s and expanded in 1992 under J&J, according to Vindicator files.
Petitti completed some renovations after purchasing the location, but this project marks the first significant renovation by Petitti.
“We’ve really enjoyed being in the community, and we have been successful here. When we took over, it just needed a little TLC,” said A.J. Petitti. “We weren’t able to do this back then, but it’s something we wanted to do for a long time. For the company, it was just the right time to do it. It worked out really well.”
The project began last winter and the remodeled store opened in April.
Customers entering the facility will walk into a completely updated store that is more than twice as large as the previous one. The approximately 35,000-square-foot space is organized into lifestyle categories such as grilling and lawn and garden. Behind the greenhouse, the nursery was expanded by about 25 percent, A.J. said.
The store offers trees and shrubs, perennials, annuals, tropicals/houseplants, lawn/garden products, birds and wildlife products, pottery, home accents, Christmas items, kitchen projects, patio furniture, grills and a boutique collection.
Some of the qualities that set Petitti apart from other garden centers is that it grows nearly all its own plants and has top-notch customer service, he said.
“We’ve got amazing people. Our team, they do such a good job with welcoming and helping customers,” he said. “The layout of the stores, the shopping experience, the product mix, the quality and the fact that we grow it all ourselves. We control it from start to finish and make sure it’s the best of everything.”
All those things remain the same at the Boardman store, just in a nicer setting.
“Seeing everyone’s face when they walk through that door – they walk through and say, ‘Wow!’” A.J. said.
The store’s hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.