New apparel shop showcases Chillicothe pride
CHILLICOTHE― A new downtown t-shirt shop showcases Chillicothe pride on Water Street.
On Friday, Mill City Apparel, a bespoke clothing store, was launched by Jarrod DePugh and Chad McAllister, devoted Chillicothe enthusiasts and co-owners of Metropolis Design Studios and Midway Sign Company.
The pair has always designed and sold shirts through Metropolis. At the beginning of 2021, the pair started to sell the t-shirts online. Slowly but surely, the pair created more branding and designs with a Chillicothe theme.
"We're selling a lot of local apparel... We're trying to fill a need," McAllister said. As business increased, the need for a dedicated Mill City store become apparent. Mill City Apparel was born.
The store's signature shirt features the paper mill and reads, "Smells like Money: making paper since 1873." The quote was inspired by DePugh's grandfather, Gale DePugh, who retired from the paper mill and always said the paper mill, "Smelled like money."
Many of the apparel features Mill City's character Smokey, a caricature of the paper mill.
"I just love the concept of Smokey because growing up here and like going on vacation and you've been doing that long drive you come home and you're finally saw that smokestack," DePugh said. "I've always associated that with home."
The store also supports fellow local Chillicothe organizations, including the Ross County Park District, local school districts and Totem Supply Co.
The park district has t-shirts, drinking glasses and stickers that represent the district's various parks, like Buzzards Roost and Maple Grove Prairie.
A variety of apparel from Unioto, Chillicothe, Bishop Flaget, the Pioneer Center and other local school districts is available.
Totem Supply Co, owned by Courtney Lewis, was located at 11 W 2nd St for 9 years but closed in January. The store was one of the first in Chillicothe to sell hometown apparel. The store was revitalized inside Mill City with t-shirts and prints.
"[Mill City and Totem] worked out a good little deal together because we always wanted to keep that concept in town and she kind of kicked off this whole downtown," McAllister said.
The store also offers custom apparel for local businesses. Contact Mill City for more information.
Mill City Apparel is located at 54 W. Water St. A ribbon cutting hosted by the Chillicothe-Ross Chamber of Commerce will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 6.
Megan Becker is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. Call her at 740-349-1106, email her at mbecker@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @BeckerReporting.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: New apparel shop Mill City showcases Chillicothe pride
