For more than a decade, a local boutique has offered up a slice of Kansas City pride.
Clothing shop Charlie Hustle got its start at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. In its Plaza space, the shop has made a name for itself with game day T-shirts and vintage-inspired Kansas City attire.
This summer, the hometown brand put down some new roots in Johnson County. Charlie Hustle quietly opened its new shop at the Oak Park Mall in May, with a grand opening event planned for June 10.
Charlie Hustle opened at 11453 W. 95th St.
- The shop occupies a space on the Oak Park Mall’s lower level, near shoe and accessory retailer ALDO.
- Clothing store Chico’s previously occupied that space, before it closed at the mall earlier this year.
- Charlie Hustle’s regular hours are the same as the mall’s; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Charlie Hustle offers Kansas City-themed apparel
As a local “game-day” shop of sorts, Charlie Hustle attire repping a lot of local teams; KC Current, Sporting KC and the Kansas City Monarchs, to name a few.
In addition to sports-themed clothing and accessories, customers at Charlie Hustle can also find items that nod to other Kansas City institutions, including local restaurants and bars.
With a larger footprint, manager Joey Mendez said the Oak Park Mall gives the brand the chance to scale up the inventory and the energy that’s already present at the “small but mighty” flagship store.
That includes offering more of Charlie Hustle’s “essentials” line of single-color items like hoodies and T- shirts with no logos — which Mendez said are particularly popular recently.
“Here we just got to play with so much more space, so we do have even more options,” he said. “That’s been cool to have an even bigger assortment.”
This marks the first Charlie Hustle shop in Johnson County
Founder Chase McAnulty launched Charlie Hustle in 2011, inspired by his own passion for vintage T-shirts.
Over the next several years, the brand built up a local following, known for its clothing’s soft fabrics and retro-style designs.
The idea to plant a flag in Overland Park, Mendez said, was driven partly by customer demand.
“We do have a large percentage of customers from Johnson County,” he said. “So I think it’s exciting to be closer to them physically now, having a second option for them to pick up from.”
Charlie Hustle’s expansion comes as the World Cup buzz in Kansas City inches closer to a fever pitch.
That buzz is reflected in sales too, with customers grabbing more soccer-themed attire and new T-shirts representing the countries people can expect to see playing this summer. (Charlie Hustle is cooking up something else soccer-related soon, too — stay tuned for that announcement.)
As such, Mendez said, it’s an exciting time to be giving Johnson Countians another place to celebrate their community. The nostalgia of the Oak Park Mall and the activity in just that pocket of Johnson County has been exciting in its own way, too.
“As someone who grew up in Kansas City and went to the mall as a teenager, it’s been nice to see so much traffic at the mall,” he said. “To see that Oak Park is (gaining) lots of local stores and new stores and traffic is up has been really cool to see.”
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