The Lantern

Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Arts

The mogul behind the Pitaya chain of women's clothing stores, had never heard of Ohio State's South Campus Gateway until two years ago - on an airplane.

"I first heard about the Gateway from a lady on the plane when we were doing one of those 'what do you do for a living' things," said Michael Mazor, the owner of Pitaya.

Mazor did some research, liked the area, and on Sept. 14, Pitaya opened in the South Campus Gateway.

The store is geared toward fashionistas on a budget, a sort of Forever 21 meets High Street - and it's convenient for Ohio state students.

"Pitaya offers the latest fashions at the best prices," said Danielle Bissel, manager of Pitaya.

The name Pitaya comes from the prickly cactus fruit that Mazor would often eat during his travels to Latin America to sell merchandise.

"I made a list of all the potential store names. My friends liked Pitaya and said it stood out," Mazor said.

The Columbus location is one out of 12 stores in the Pitaya chain ranging from its first store in Bloomington, Ind. to other cities, such as, Dallas and Tucson. Mazor never thought he would be in business and said that he did not have a plan.

"It was just a slow evolution and a way to pay for my travels," he said.

After leaving college, Mazor went overseas, sold clothes and various items and thought he could do something similar in the U.S. He opened the first Pitaya store in 1990 in his home state of Indiana. Now the business owner and founder gets approached by landlords across the nation to open new stores. He currently lives in Bloomington, Santa Monica and Seattle and has come a long way from selling candy in grade school he said.

"It's great to be your own boss, but it's not for everybody," Mazor said. "I feel like I have to sleep with my phone under my pillow. I went from micromanaging everything to delegating. It was hard to let go at first because this was my business and I care about every single detail. But I couldn't do it all by myself, if you want to grow you have to trust people."

Mazor managed his first store for 10 years before expanding to other locations. He plans on opening more stores throughout the country and said his concept of a store should be duplicated.

"We have the complete package here of the best service and prices that will make it hard for other stores to compete," he said.

Jon Hines, art director for more than 5 years who designs the graphics agreed.

"We provide a really a great product, have a nice atmosphere with good music and floor design on top of our outstanding customer service."

Some student's first impressions of the new store were positive.

"When I first walked in, I thought the clothes were cute but knew they were going to be too expensive like the other stores on High Street, but they were not," said Tiffany Akpan, a sophomore in business and fashion.

The tops in Pitaya range from $10 to $40, the accessories of jewelry, purses, and hats are all under $40. Some of the jeans were the most expensive from $39 to $69.

"We try to make sure that our clothes are reasonably priced. We don't want you to just like it and not be able to afford it," Mazor said.

The workers are really hands-on and attentive at Pitaya said Kay Robinson, a senior in womens studies.

"They helped me out a lot by picking out certain things for me and getting me the right sizes I needed," Robinson said.

To achieve customer satisfaction, Mazor said he tells his employees to sometimes be brutally honest with people because he wants them to get compliments.

To keep the store fresh, they change their product line every week.

"The clothes have to feel and fit well," Mazor said. "Our workers try to offer top service because that is something that has been devalued over years. We want people to come back. We're not just trying to make a sale, we want a longtime customer."

Robinson said she was glad they got new items often, but wished some of the older ones would remain.

"There was a shirt I saw the first week that I was going to wait and get later, but I didn't even see it this week," Robinson said.

Girls should really take advantage of the deals at Pitaya since it is close by.

hope.27@osu.edu

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