If you look closely at the sign, stickers and T-shirts printed with ‘Civil,’ the name of the new skateboard-snowboard shop on Main Street in East Greenwich, there’s a code.
But it’s not a hard code to crack, really. And if you’ve ever been to Italy or seen the carvings on almost any monument or watched a Super Bowl or learned about Roman numerals, it’s even clearer: 153.
But what does the code, written in a Trajan font commonly used for Roman numerals, mean?
Nothing yet, Civil co-owner Guido Silvestri said, but he’s hoping it will eventually develop a brand identity.
“Once we break out a little bit more – we’re still trying to get everyone to know where we are, but we do sell our brand- name stuff well now – eventually we were going to brand another line with a ‘153’ or something like that,” he said. “It wouldn’t really be as connected to what we’re doing now.”
That could still be a few years down the road for Silvestri, 33, and co-owner Rob Asselin, 30. They’ve been on Main Street for about a year and are starting to settle in. Business is “solid,” although “we’re not getting rich off of it,” Silvestri said. They sell skateboarding and snowboarding clothes, shoes, equipment, hats and watches.
And their own line of products, which carry the name of the store, is gaining in popularity. But when the two opened the story on the town’s main drag, they took a chance, Silvestri said.
They had lived in East Greenwich for a few years and were sure that they saw a need – kids from South Kingstown, Jamestown and nearby towns were driving to Warwick or to Providence for their skating or boarding needs. “So we thought it was a good central area for the clientele that would be shopping” elsewhere, Silvestri said.
“And another reason is that we wanted to stay away from strip malls,” he added. “We wanted a store that had character. We wanted a store that was a standalone – not in a business complex or anything like that.”
East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jerry Meyer said that some nearby storeowners were a “little bit” surprised when Civil opened its doors.
“That’s because it wasn’t normally what you’d expect on Main Street,” Meyer added. “But they seem to have done all right, there are no problems with them and nobody objects. It seems that they’ve found their niche.”
Both native Rhode Islanders, Asselin and Silvestri had lived in different spots around East Greenwich for years. Because of the relationships that Silvestri and Asselin had built with neighboring stores before opening their own, there was only mild trepidation when they wanted to open the store in an area where businesses cater to mostly older customers, Silvestri said.
“It was really quick, too,” he said. “We signed the lease, we built and we were open in a month. So a lot of people got taken by surprise – I don’t think a lot of businesses even had time to draw up their opinions.”
But many of their neighbors agreed, he said, that bringing a youth market to Main Street was a good move.
Meyer said he couldn’t quantify whether there are more kids on Main Street now, but said skateboarding and snowboarding also attract adult shoppers.
The vacancy rate on Main Street has been “churning” a little in the past year, with the decline in the economy, Meyer said. Stores close up shop regularly, he said, but there’s usually another that’s poised to take their place.
“But the good news is that you don’t see rows of [new] stores open – it’s an occasional storefront,” he said. “As far as Civil, they seem to fit in – it might be seen as an unusual location, but they knew what they were doing.”
Naming the store wasn’t tough, either. It was a quick brainstorming session, Silvestri said, “It was just six names on a page. Rob liked it. I liked it.”
In the world of skateboarding and snowboarding – a world dominated mostly by teenagers – being successful depends heavily on branding, on creating a name and image that are easily recognizable. With a wall of skateboard “decks,” like the wall in Civil, choosing one is sometimes just a matter of brand preference. And the evolution of a brand from one style to another – in this case, the Roman numerals could create a sister brand to Civil – could further endear it to customers, Silvestri said.
And customer loyalty is something that the store has been actively building. Along with “sponsoring” skaters – giving them what they need to skate and promote the store – they’re also hosting contests and handing out stickers around town. The local clientele is “stoked” on those perks, Silvestri said.
He and Asselin, as skateboarders themselves, understand.
That the kids are happy “is No. 1 to us,” he said. “Those are the kids who come in and are 100-percent down with the store. They get good service, they see new products and we know what we’re doing because we’re avid snowboarders and skaters.”
A lot of them confess that opening a skateboarding shop is their dream, Silvestri said.
“And I tell them it’s not the most financially rewarding avenue to go down,” he said. •
