Girl’s getaway to Grove City Pennsylvania features shopping and more
The Buffalo News
11/9/2014
This past summer, when my daughter and I started planning our annual girl’s getaway that we take when my husband and youngest son go to camp, we knew just the perfect place to go—Grove City, Pennsylvania. Last year, when we were on a band trip with my daughter’s school, the buses stopped at the food court at the Grove City Premium Outlets for our lunch break. Since we didn’t have time to explore the shopping center on that trip, I promised my daughter that we’d return another time.
Grove City, located mid-way between Erie and Pittsburgh, is about a three hour drive from Buffalo. It’s close enough that some folks from western New York regularly make the trek to the outlets, mainly because there’s no sales tax on shoes and clothing in Pennsylvania. There are also a couple of other attractions in the area that make it worth the trip.
Grove City Premium Outlets
Of course, the main attraction in Grove City is the open-air outlet mall, which has over 140 stores, including many designer names like Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein, Coach, Nike, and Tommy Hilfiger. The shopping center, built in 1994, is one of the largest outlet malls in the country. Even though the outlet mall is located next to a busy expressway, it has a natural, outdoorsy feeling, due to the green space inserted between walkways in some parts of the mall.
We decided to make this an overnight adventure, so we could shop late and not worry about having to drive home in the dark. Plus, we could also get an early start shopping the next morning. After checking in to the Best Western, across the street from the outlets entrance, we actually drove over to the mall, since it’s located on a rather busy street. There are also several other national chain hotels nearby, including Elephant & Castle (www.elephantcastle.com ), an inn and restaurant located right beside the outlets. It looked kind of interesting; maybe we’ll check it out next time.
We arrived at the outlets with shopping lists in hand so we could limit our impulse buying. We focused on stocking up on some basic items like jeans, underwear, shoes and sneakers, as well as items for my daughter’s birthday, which was in a few weeks. Some of favorite stores to shop in at the outlets include Charlotte Russe, Vera Bradley, and the L’eggs, Hanes, Bali and Playtex outlet. We were only able to cover about a third of the mall that evening. Afterwards, we stopped at the Kings Family Restaurant (www.kingsfamily.com) adjacent to our hotel, which is part of a regional chain of restaurants located throughout Pennsylvania. I enjoyed a turkey dinner, while my daughter opted for chicken fingers.
The restaurant’s signature dessert is their “frownie brownie,” which looked very tempting. However, we decided to split a slice of their “famous” apple pie topped with cinnamon ice cream. Yummy!
We finished shopping at the outlets the following afternoon, after spending the morning checking out a couple other Grove City attractions: Wendell August Forge and Slovak Folk Crafts.
Wendell August Forge
Wendell August Forge is the oldest and largest forge in the country. They have been producing hand-wrought metal items since 1923, when the company was founded by Wendell August. Today, their flagship store and factory is located just about a mile west of the outlets. (If you don’t have the time to go here, they also have a store in the outlet mall.)
Before browsing through their large showroom, be sure to check out their history center, a small museum that describes the company’s history and products. You can even take a self-guide walk-through tour of their factory. There are many lovely items to choose from in their showroom, including serving pieces, photo frames, desk accessories, home décor items, holiday ornaments, and even handbags and jewelry. I found a 7” tall cross with their popular dogwood design that I knew my husband would like as a gift for our anniversary. I also got some coasters and a Christmas ornament.
Slovak Folk Crafts
The next stop on our itinerary was Slovak Folk Crafts, located just a mile east of the outlets, which specializes in handmade folk crafts from Slovakia and other Central European countries, including Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Since I enjoy looking at, and occasionally purchasing, Polish pottery, I was delighted to see that the store had the largest selections of Polish pottery I’ve ever seen. I decided to add a liquid soap dispenser to my collection. My daughter, decided to go for something more whimsical; she picked out a t-shirt that proclaimed “You bet your dupa I’m Polish.”
While the merchandise selection is great, the reason why you should stop here is to see the huge animated woodcarving that is on permanent display. It took three Slovakian woodcarvers six months to complete the basswood woodcarving which measures 17 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and 6 feet deep. It is the largest animated woodcarving in the United States. The 32 animated scenes are powered by windshield wiper motors.
Other side trips
We also drove through downtown Grove City, which has a couple of antique stores as well as several small restaurants. If we had more time we might have stopped and browsed a bit.
One of the top items on my shopping list for this trip was to find a pair of shoes to wear to an upcoming wedding. However, despite all the shoe stores at the outlet mall, I came up empty handed. Fortunately, I had picked up a brochure at the outlet’s food court that advertised Reyer’s “the world’s largest shoe store” (www.reyers.com). I noted that it was located in Sharon, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles northwest of Grove City. Since it wasn’t that far away and I did still need to look for shoes, we had to check it out. Happily, I found the perfect shoes there, plus a matching purse!
Actually Sharon is noted for several “world’s largest stores.” In addition to Reyer's, you can visit The Winner (www.thewinneroutlet.com) which is the world’s largest gown and formal attire store and Daffins (www.daffins.com) the world’s largest candy store. Sharon is also home to a couple of luxury inns, the Gone With the Wind inspired Tara-A Country Inn (www.tara-inn.com) and the Buhl Mansion (www.buhlmansion.com), which has been named one of America’s top romantic inns. Sharon is also home to the original Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant.
We also stopped in Erie on the way to Grove City as well as on the way back. On the drive down, just before you get to Erie, the Pennsylvania Welcome Center, located on the I-90 after you cross the state line, is one of the best stops I’ve seen along any expressway. They have lots of tourist information and maps, clean rest rooms, and vending machines. Outside, there are numerous picnic tables, plus a great view of Lake Erie and the surrounding countryside.
We stopped in Erie for a late lunch at the Chick Fil A on Peach Street, and then we made a short stop the Millcreek Mall Complex, (www.millcreekmall.net) which has over 160 stores, before continuing on to Grove City.
You would have thought by the time we were heading home the next day, we would have had enough shopping. But, no, there was one more stop at Millcreek Mall for one last birthday gift for my daughter. Before getting back on the thruway, we had dinner at Eat’nPark (www.eatnpark.com), a family-friendly restaurant with locations throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The 24-hour restaurant features an extensive menu as well as an in-house bakery. One of their signature items is their “smiley cookies,” which we had to try. We even brought a dozen of them home for the family.
If you go
Grove City Premium Outlets, 1911 Leesburg Grove City Road (exit 113 from I-79), 724-748-4770, www.premiumoutlets.com/grovecity Monday-Saturday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm, Sunday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.
Wendell August Forge, 2074 Leesburg Grove City Road, 724-748-9501 (www.wendellaugust.com) Open Monday-Saturday 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, Sunday 12:00 – 5:00 pm.
Slovak Folk Crafts, 1605 S. Center Street Ext, Grove City, 724-748-5868, www.slovakfolkcrafts.com Open Monday-Saturday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Directions
From Buffalo take the I-90 west to I-79 (in Erie) to exit 113.
