Affordable new store opens in Cadiz

A couple doors down from your very own News-Herald office is a new shop on Main Street. Blake’s Family Deals opened a little over a week ago and owners Sam and Tiffany Blake are excited to serve the community in a new and meaningful way.

The Blake’s started off selling products on a Facebook group about a year ago. They recently wanted to expand the business. “We learned that some items sell better in store,” Sam said. “Like clothes, number one. Plus we wanted to grow. We were in a 10×20 garage selling on Facebook.”

“Having an open store location is better for some people,” Tiffany shared. “Like the elderly or disabled, they’re more likely to want to come in and shop more than use Facebook.”

Sam said he had wanted to sell on Facebook for a while so when he found somewhere he could get inventory he jumped into it. The couple gets products from different independent warehouses across Ohio and a few in West Virginia. Those warehouses get items by the truckload and then sell by the pallett. “When we go buy the regular pallets we get,” Sam explained, “they’re usually no manifest.” That means there’s not a solid record of what could be on the trucks. “What you see is what you get.”

“It’s just a pallet of boxes,” Tiffany said. “It’s all brand new products, you just don’t know what you’ll get… it comes from most of your big box stores.”

They said they’ve found some weird items before and will often avoid opening boxes around their kids. The store itself remains family friendly, you won’t find any inappropriate items on their shelves. Anything that’s too much for the storefront is sold on Ebay or in the Facebook group.

The products in the store vary but there is always a mix of items. The Blake’s said that all their products are at 50-60 percent retail cost and everything, with very few exceptions, is brand new. With rising prices everywhere, the store could be a real help to anyone looking for a good deal on everything from cleaning products to a lot of seasonal. “We always have seasonal items,” Sam said. Tiffany shared that Christmas was her favorite time of year, “Because we have a lot of families. Getting those name-brand toys for a discount is a big deal. I just love the way we’re able to help out.”

Beyond expanding their business, the Blakes wanted to bring something beneficial to the community. “I wanted to bring something affordable,” Sam said. “We wanted to make everyday life a little bit cheaper for everybody.”

Right now, they are open seven days a week. Monday through Saturday they’re open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays they’re open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. They expect to keep these hours for a few weeks before settling into a more permanent schedule. The plan is to continue posting often on their Facebook page, showing not just additional products but showing what’s in store. There are some types of products they always have but the unknown pallets help keep a variety of things coming in. If you’re interested in knowing if they have something specific, feel free to call ahead and ask, 740-320-4120.