With the walls lined with vintage band tees and sneakers, it’s nearly impossible to browse the selection of vintage clothing at Snatchy without feeling a keen sense of nostalgia. Located on Broadway in Englewood, Snatchy is owned and operated by Anthony Nicosia and his son, also Anthony Nicosia.
Snatchy opened in June and is housed in a historic building along Englewood’s strip of local businesses. With the majority of vintage stores located farther north on Broadway, it was important to provide the locals of South Broadway with access to vintage clothing, Nicosia Sr. explained.
Accessibility is undoubtedly a driving force for the father and son pair. The store hosts a discount bin with over 500 items to choose from, with the intention of providing affordable options for every demographic. The bin also pays homage to the vintage vendors themselves, who sift through bins at Goodwill Outlet stores to find the pieces they resell.
Along with being one of the only vintage stores in town, the owners of Snatchy also operate a website for the store to provide greater accessibility for customers.
“Everything that’s in the store is also available on our website. We hope to expand our website so that people who don’t have access to these kinds of stores in their hometowns are able to come to our website and have the same kind of experience,” said Nicosia Sr.
Nicosia Sr. began reselling in the vintage market in 2004 on eBay and explained that throughout that experience, most of his customers lived in rural areas where they didn’t have access to vintage shops.
As sustainability efforts and the vintage reselling community continue to grow in conjunction, it was important to the Nicosias to provide equal access to customers.
“We’re all anti-fast fashion. The way that the vintage industry is growing is great because it puts a spotlight on sustainability in regard to keeping clothing out of landfills. Sustainability is now a lifestyle for us–something that you can incorporate into your dress and your persona,” said Nicosia Sr.
Snatchy is home to 21 vendors, with over 2000 items available for purchase. It was Nicosia’s 16-year-old son and business partner who found the store’s vendors. Nicosia Jr. has been reselling for over two years now, operating his own vintage clothing brand on the Instagram page @denver_soles.
“There’s a big group of us who go to the Goodwill bins every day, so I just asked them if they would want to be in our store,” said Nicosia Jr.
Nicosia Jr., who is responsible for finding many of the rare T-shirts that are for sale in the store, found his passion for vintage at an early age, noting a four-hour conversation with a man selling Grateful Dead concert tees as one of his favorite memories so far.
“He’s been running his own business since he was 14. He sources pieces all day long,” his father said.
Connecting with their customer base, which encompasses a wide age range, has been a great source of fulfillment for the Nicosias. Although the demand for vintage is high for high schoolers and college students, the store’s extensive collection of vintage band tees also draws in an older crowd.
“My favorite part is just talking to people — getting to meet someone who was at that exact Metallic concert 30 years ago. People will tell me what T-shirts they used to have, which is just so cool,” said Nicosia Jr.
Fostering a sense of community is a long-term goal at Snatchy. The two explained that they intentionally chose a larger space for the store’s location, with future plans of hosting events and becoming a space for more than just selling clothing.
Calling back to his days of spending time at skateboard shops and baseball card stores while growing up, Nicosia Sr. hopes Snatchy becomes a similar type of gathering place for those with a love for vintage.
“We’d like for it to become a buy, trade and sell place. For a lot of our clientele, this is their hobby,” Nicosia Sr. said.
The support from the community has been undeniably tangible at Snatchy. After a little over a month of business, the store has seen 15% of its sales come from repeat customers.
“We put a lot of planning and effort into it, so finally to get it open and see it get traction has been great. We really do believe in the vintage community,” said Nicosia Sr.
Snatchy is located at 3421 S. Broadway in Englewood. To shop online, visit their website.
All photos courtesy of Snatchy.