An apparel chain that caters to fans of professional sports teams has opened its third area store at the Lehigh Valley Mall.
Rally House opened Friday in the bustling mall at Grape Street and MacArthur Road in Whitehall, an employee who answered the phone Monday morning confirmed. The store is on the main floor next to Macy’s, in the space that once housed Jennifer’s Unique boutique. The boutique temporarily moved to the lifestyle center before moving permanently to the space upstairs.
Nationally, the chain reportedly has about 200 stores in 20 states. Regionally, in May, the chain announced plans to open a 5,903-square-foot store at Promenade Saucon Valley in Upper Saucon, between Barnes & Noble and J. Crew Factory. The store is scheduled to open July 26, according to the chain’s website. Another store in the region will be at Hamilton Crossing Shopping Center in Lower Macungie.
Rally House is known for its apparel, gifts, home decor and other merchandise from local NCAA, NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and MLS teams. Displayed items include clothing, jerseys, accessories, slippers, jewelry, blankets, glassware, key chains, signage and more.
Additionally, the mall will sell college sports merchandise from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania State University and Villanova University. Other area sports teams, such as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and Philadelphia Union, are also sold at the area store. Popular brands sold at the area store include New Era, Nike, Antigua, Mitchell & Ness and Starter, according to a news release.
Rally House’s roots date back nearly 30 years, when founders Tim and Mabel “Peg” Liebert started Mabel’s Kitchen, a catalog of Kansas-related apparel, gifts and merchandise that later evolved into another business, Kansas Sampler, selling Kansas professional sports equipment in five stores around Kansas City.
After a few successful years, the Lieberts looked to expand and in 2008 launched under the name “Rally House.”
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant is set to open soon in the mall’s outdoor lifestyle center.
The store will be relocating to the space formerly occupied by Bravo! Cucina Italiana, which attempted a relaunch about two years ago but closed in October 2023. Iron Hill patrons will be able to enjoy a revamped food menu in addition to beers brewed in-house at the new mall location.
Miniso is also set to open this summer on the mall’s main floor, in the space formerly occupied by High Level Fashion. The chain specializes in home and consumer goods, including cosmetics, stationery, toys and kitchenware. Founded by Jack Ye, he decided to start the business after Asian-style specialty stores, which often offer a wide variety of goods at affordable prices.
Golf Galaxy, a chain of interactive golf stores, also plans to open a location in the exterior portion of the mall near Michaels in the coming months, according to mall listings.
New additions to the mall include Stone Haven, which sells gemstone bracelets, anklets and other jewelry. The store moved into the former site of Better Life with Brie in April. The boutique was located on the mall’s main floor, near fast-casual food options, but closed in mid-January.
Brianna Tomkins, owner of Better Life with Braai in Allentown, told lehighvalleylive.com she plans to temporarily move away from brick-and-mortar retail to focus on private events and partnering with other local businesses.
Dave & Buster’s, which opened at the mall in October 2020, recently underwent several upgrades. On January 12, 2024, the dining and entertainment hub opened those changes to the public. The lineup includes a new interactive social bay, more immersive TV screen viewing, revamped chef-designed menus, kiosks to streamline reservations and ordering, and new, brighter gathering spaces.
In addition to Better Life With Bry, other stores that have closed since the beginning of the year include Pepper Palace, Little TrenzSetters Boutique, Slime Time, and Otaku House.
Slime Time has since relocated to Promenade Saucon Valley. Part of the space formerly occupied by Little Trendsetters is now part of Victoria’s Secret and Pink’s newly expanded space. Jennifer’s Unique Boutique took over the former Geek House space on Feb. 1. The boutique was temporarily located in the former Williams Sonoma space at the lifestyle center, then in the former Pink location before moving upstairs.
The Cheesecake Factory moved into a renovated 8,900-square-foot space formerly part of Barnes & Noble, next to the lifestyle center, in mid-December 2023. The bookstore giant closed temporarily at the mall in July 2023 and then moved to a temporary space at Track 23 on the lower level. Track 23 closed permanently at the end of June 2023.
Barnes & Noble has since returned to its current space after a lengthy renovation.
According to a map of the shopping mall, there are currently several vacant storefronts, including the former site of Slime Time.
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Pamela Sroka Holtzman can be contacted at email address:.
