One of Findlay Market’s newest storefronts is celebrating a year of successful business this weekend with a special event.
Dealer’s Choice Collective, a vintage clothing-focused shop that also sells glassware, furniture, watches, small curios and the work of local vendors and artists, will host a one-year anniversary event this Saturday afternoon from noon to 5 p.m. at its storefront on 1821 Race Street.
Co-owners Ariel Robbins and Michael Villareal founded the store to provide a brick-and-mortar space for their vintage business. Robbins has been selling vintage clothing for more than 12 years and has been doing pop-ups with Villareal for five; readers who are truly tapped in will likely recognize Villareal’s name for his other pop-up Dunch Provisions, a culinary series which he co-leads with Baker’s Table chef Chad Esmeier.
The name of the store and some of its wares are a tongue-in-cheek nod to the hospitality industry that both primarily work in.
“Anytime we go visit a friend who’s also bartending, we don’t want to make a decision on a drink. We just say the phrase ‘dealer’s choice.’ It’s a part of the industry language. ‘It’s up to you; you make the decision for me,'” Villareal said. “And the barware, the glassware, a lot of the home decor and clothing we stock is kind of centered around bars, alcohol branding… it’s just nice to have it available for other people that want to appreciate the same stuff.”
Originally, the space was home to Earth House, a sustainability-focused vintage store that was founded in early 2022 by Emily Bensman — who ended up moving to California and closing the store about a year ago.
Robbins, who was already a vendor in that store, was able to work with local real estate developer Model Group to absorb Bensman’s contract for her own business. Since opening, they’ve retained Earth House’s focus on being a collective that features other local vendors and artists — Odd Stock Co. and Reworked by Sav are two examples of local artists that sell their work out of Dealer’s Choice — while also keeping the store’s image locked in to Robbins’ and Villareal’s personal tastes.
“It’s nice to have a curation that’s specific to a brand that you’re trying to display instead of just trying to have a little bit of everything for everyone,” Villareal said. “We try to have a good range of things, but if it doesn’t fit the vision of what the space or the brand is, then we direct people to the other shops in the area that might have that thing that they’re looking for, whatever it may be.”
In recent months, the shop has expanded to sell all manner of small objects, like vintage watches, matchbooks, ashtrays and old Cincinnati-themed postcards. Recently, they’ve been selling a lot of unique knit sweaters. They’ve also pulled in larger objects of note, like signs from various alcohol brands or a full-size mirror sporting Miller High Life’s iconic “Girl on the Moon” branding from 1907.
“We have a lot of people who just stumble in because of our location… We often have a lot of like older clientele that come in, and sometimes we can definitely cater to something that they would like. But if anything, even just the decor of the store is engaging for customers like them. They love seeing older signs, old glassware that maybe their parents had. Even that, just having people enjoy the environment we’ve created, is enough for us,” Robbins said.
This Saturday, the store’s special event will feature giveaways, store credit opportunities, a flat 20% off everything in stock, special local vendors outside, a live DJ set from Nymph, and more. In the future, the two plan to utilize the space even further to host musical events, culinary pop-ups, local collaborations and more. But for now, they’ll just keep marching to the beat of their own drum.
“What we stock really is always dealer’s choice, and it rotates every week, so you never know what you’ll find,” Robbins said. “This city is ever-changing, but we always have a good amount of people coming in weekly to see what’s new … There are plenty of places trying to be all things for all people, so instead of trying to just have everything, we support others and point customers to the right direction. Here, it’s nice to have our own brand that’s just for us.”
For more information on Dealer’s Choice Collective, visit the store’s Instagram page.
