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112-year-old Akron business features stylish hats and caps
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: November 12, 2020
When Daniel P. Kelly first opened his hat store on South Howard Street in downtown Akron in 1908, he had no way of predicting that it would become one of the city’s oldest retail establishments.
But that’s exactly how things played out, with The Hatterie celebrating its 112-year anniversary on Oct. 10.
While the look and variety of the items have evolved, The Hatterie remains family owned with Kelly’s grandson Daniel Kelly now running the operation.
“We are the second oldest retail company in Akron,” said Kelly, who took over as president of The Hatterie in 1982. “There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years, but we’ve managed to keep things going.
“We survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and now we are doing our best to ride out our second pandemic.”
When his grandfather started The Hatterie, Kelly said unionized workers at United Hat Manufacturers, which was co-owned by his brother-in-law Ed Lynch, produced the merchandise sold at the store.
Located at 140 and 142 S. Howard St. both companies soon became fixtures in the area’s business landscape.
“My grandfather got into the hat business because my great-grandfather worked in a hat factory in County Cork, Ireland.
“As a young man, my grandfather began working at a hat factory in Danbury, Connecticut, which was the hat capital of the United States,” said Kelly. “He worked under terrible conditions and became an advocate for unions in factories.
“He took a job as a representative and organizer for United Hatters of North America and began traveling the country to encourage stores to carry union-made hats. During his travels, he stopped in Akron and met the woman who would become my grandmother. She did not want to move so he settled here and started the family business.”
After United Hat Manufacturers closed in 1929, The Hatterie continued to sell men’s hats and also added hat cleaning, blocking and renovating to its repertoire of services.
In the 1930s, The Hatterie was forced to move its operation to 126. S. Howard St. in the Quaker Oats Building to make way for Akron’s first Walgreens pharmacy.
Kelly’s father William took over The Hatterie after returning from World War II, where he served in the U.S. Army.
In 1959, The Hatterie relocated to 121 S. Main St.; this time it was the construction of Akron’s Super Block that necessitated the change.
“When I took over the business from my dad in 1982 I was bound and determined to move out of downtown, which had become blighted,” said Kelly.
His first foray out of the area took place in 1990 when he moved the store to Romig Road in the Rolling Acres area of Akron. After settling in, Kelly started a women’s department.
“Until then, we had always been a men’s store,” he said.
The Hatterie moved to 1938 Buchholzer Blvd. in the Chapel Hill Square Plaza in 2006, where it remains today.
Shortly after setting up in the plaza, Kelly met John Weletyk, the manager of the Oreck Vacuum store, located right next door to The Hatterie.
“After my store closed Dan asked me to come work for him,” said Weletyk, now a part-time employee at The Hatterie.
The store continues to be open seven days a week and carries a wide variety of hats and caps for men and women, as well as men’s bow tie sets, dress socks, suspenders and ladies hatpins.
“In the winter, we carry gloves and earmuffs,” Weletyk said.
Hat and cap prices range from $19.95 to around $150.
Weletyk said dress hats and caps are some of the most popular choices among the store’s clientele.
“We sell a lot of fedora-type hats in both vintage and contemporary shapes and styles,” Weletyk said. “In the last few years, our imported dress caps have become very popular despite their high price point.
“Fascinators are our most popular female dress hats and some of our ladies like to shop in the men’s section because there is a wider variety of hat sizes.
“Unfortunately we saw a major decline in the sale of ladies dress hats due to the COVID crisis because activities surrounding three of our biggest sales periods for ladies hats--Easter, Mother’s Day and the Kentucky Derby--were scaled back substantially or canceled,” Weletyk said.
Kelly said many of his customers are repeat visitors to the store.
“We are well-established so most residents have heard about us,” said Kelly. “Our website is our best form of advertising, but I have run ads in local newspapers and on the radio. We also advertise on our Facebook page.”
He said the rise of online retailers has adversely affected his business.
“The ease with which customers can return items through the mail has reduced the need for people to visit a brick-and-mortar location to try on the item before buying it,” Kelly said.
While sales are down because of the pandemic, Kelly is hoping to see an uptick during the holidays. Even if that doesn’t happen, he said he will be able to keep the store open for the foreseeable future.
“To help us get through the pandemic, I got a low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration so I have enough funds to keep me afloat until the spring of 2021,” Kelly said.
“It was very important to my father that I continue to keep the business going,” he said. “When I took over, my goal was for The Hatterie to turn 100.
“I’ve exceeded that by 12 years. I will keep things going as long as I’m healthy. I’m not going to concern myself with who will take over for me or what will happen when I can no longer run things.”