Eastwood Mall Complex attracts all types of fans

Stay tuned: Cafaro Company to offer more attractions

Almanac 2026

Mar 14-15, 2026

Dan Hiner

dhiner@tribtoday.com

 

NILES — Since its opening in 1969, the Eastwood Mall Complex has become the Mahoning Valley’s largest shopping center, with more than 200 stores, and it continues to grow.

By that standard, one of its newest residents, Boscov’s, has been a perfect fit. The Reading, Pa.-based retailer has made its presence known and owner Jim Boscov said he thinks he knows why.

It’s not only a retail fit for the Valley, but a culture fit with the way the Cafaro family operates the mall.

“The Cafaro family is one of the few real estate developers that really do it right. They pay attention to all the right things,” Boscov said, noting that companies like theirs “can give it the care, love and concern that sometimes the bigger corporations can’t. You can maintain that family business mentality and level of communication as you get bigger. I think we’re doing it fairly well and the Cafaro family does it well.”

The store has made great strides in less than five years, Boscov said.

“We have 51 stores, and our store here went up eight ranks in the last year, and grew at a rate bigger than the overall company, with a healthy increase of nearly double what the industry is looking at,” he said. “More and more people are discovering who we are.

As much as we talk about promotions and malls and assortment, it really comes down to people who are anxious, and willing and helpful with other people, having a personality and behavior that is appealing to other people. It comes down to doing the right thing.”

The store has made good on plans and promises Boscov discussed last year.

In childrens shoes, it has doubled its offerings, and in junior plus sizes Boscov’s is offering more style, fashion and assortment, Boscov said.

“One example is printed character T-shirts. We have a terrific assortment in regular sizes but in junior plus the assortment was not enough, and this year it will be bigger. The same with sports and work-wear and dressier clothing,” he said.

The boys department will be showing more sportswear than last year, and a broader range of athletic wear and sportswear like slacks and button-down shirts.

“That’s just an example of the little tweaks we make to reflect what the customer is asking for, or to just find areas where we think we can improve,” Boscov said. “We have to always look at ourselves and ask if there’s anything we can do better.”

In many cases, it’s finding some new labels to offer a broader range of fairly priced apparel.

“(This year) they’ll see an assortment from Lands End that offers a terrific look at a very reasonable price,” he said. “Boscov’s offers a wide assortment, so you can shop here and buy a whole outfit for the price of a shirt you’d buy elsewhere.”

Boscov’s also added the Boscov’s Bargain Outlet section, where the retailer procures limited runs of items at extremely low costs and provides them at, well, a great bargain.

“Boscov’s Bargain outlet has been very successful. The assortment changes almost weekly. You walk through and discover all these things you didn’t know you needed, and we’re continuing to expand,” he said.

The store also has tried to be a part of the community, making its space about more than buying clothes.

“We have had special Father’s Day events and Mother’s Day events, we try to have a special spring festival,” he said. Every month, we try to have a reason to come in, maybe a scavenger hunt, just little things families like to do,” Boscov said.

They provide opportunities for pictures with the Easter Bunny or the Grinch, and even had a small corn maze in October.

Boscov said he is grateful for the reception by the Mahoning Valley.

“We celebrate that we’ve been well received in the community, met a lot of people we like, and we love our co-workers, we love our community,” he said. “We’ve been able to say ‘this is who we are, this is what we do, and we hope you like us.’ And doing that, I think, is better than saying ‘here, buy this shirt, it’s only $7.99. I’m proud of what we do, but I always want to be proud of who we are.”

Elsewhere across the Eastwood Mall Complex, the Cafaro family continues to develop the property and look ahead for new development opportunities almost before they are necessary.

“I find it exciting that there’s always some movement here at Eastwood Mall. There’s some renovation going on here for some future projects we haven’t been able to announce yet, but we’re always making room for all different types of businesses,” he said.

Cafaro Company spokesman Joe Bell said businesses that were added last year continue to do well, even as the mall works to expand beyond the typical retail and hospitality businesses that have traditionally occupied the property.

“The trade schools do quite well. At the same time, we’re just looking at different additions to kind of complement the retail outlets, because people are always looking for new features — bars, restaurants, service providers, that type of thing,” he said.

Dave and Buster’s has flourished since its January 2025 opening.

“It’s a very different type of concept in that you have this combination of an arcade with a restaurant, party rooms, and a bar. It’s a lot of high energy and that brings in many different (customers),” Bell said. “You get the after-school groups from the universities, weekend crowds, big sporting events bring people in to watch games because there are so many places to watch whatever game you want.”

Bell said Cafaro also has been successful in bringing in more locally owned businesses, which make the complex feel more like a part of the community.

Just before the holiday season, the mall welcomed Blackwater East, a tattoo and piercing business. Skyler and Lindsey Colter of Champion opened The Dink Yard, an indoor pickleball facility.

“We’ve seen the explosion of interest in that sport. And a local entrepreneur wanted to provide a space for people to come and enjoy it all year round,” he said.

The Exotic Snack Guys bring in a wide variety of snack foods from different countries around the world. Shop of Treasures, which opened just before Christmas, is a new place to shop for sports cards, collectible dolls and other such items.

Some projects have meant upgrades for familiar faces too.

“We recently converted the rest of the old Dillard’s space, and that will be the new home to Dick’s Sporting Goods, and they’re going to expand their space by about 50%,” Bell said. “It will have more space for different product lines and it really will cater to more team sports as well.”

And the developer continues to build meaningful partnerships with other local businesses.

“Recently, we have had a big change over at Eastwood Field,” Bell said. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers started playing there in 1999, when it was named Cafaro Field for the first season. The name changed to Eastwood Field after that.

“The Scrappers just inked a naming deal with 7 17 Credit Union, so it will be called 7 17 Credit Union Field at Eastwood,” he said. The deal comes with a brand new field which, preparations for which are already underway. It may also mean new fan amenities at the park, but Bell could not say for sure if or what those might be.

As usual, he said, Cafaro is not done.

“There are a few other things in the pipeline right now. We may be introducing new features to Eastwood Mall. The deal is not finalized but it’s going to be quite a departure from the things you’ve seen here before. It’s not a retail addition,” he said. “But stay tuned because within next month, we will see an announcement coming forth on that.”