With women's sports, NIL and streetwear, State Champs is more than a new Kent coffee shop
KENT — Rubbing elbows with basketball icon Sue Bird and other celebrities during recent NCAA Women's Final Four festivities in Cleveland is just one of the perks of opening a hip, sports-themed coffee shop as part of a grand vision for Northeast Ohio.
Ally Eclarin and Cassy Kopp are the co-owners of State Champs in Kent. Their brand is part mochas and lattes, part streetwear and part community, with women's sports playing a major role.
The merging of those concepts contributed to State Champs becoming a partner of Togethxr, a media and commerce company founded by Bird, soccer star Alex Morgan, snowboarding sensation Chloe Kim and swimming great Simone Manuel.
At a party hosted by Togethxr, Eclarin met her hoops idol, 13-time WNBA All-Star Bird.
“I think this is my ghost speaking to you now because I died that day I was so happy,” Eclarin told the Beacon Journal.
Eclarin and Kopp hope the memorable experience will be one of many as they continue to grow State Champs.
Eclarin, 33, and Kopp, 29, are sports enthusiasts and former high school athletes who put plans for the brick-and-mortar version of State Champs into motion after Eclarin lost her previous job in the tech industry last year.
When Eclarin was laid off, she and Kopp sat in Kopp's black Kia Sportage in downtown Canton and discussed the future. They credit "The Founders" mural associated with the Pro Football Hall of Fame for awakening their creativity and, as Kopp said, reinforcing the notion, "We need to do this."
Eclarin grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and said she developed the idea for State Champs while she worked at a coffee shop as a student at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles.
A native of New Philadelphia, Kopp is a Kent State University graduate whose experience in retail and logistics allowed Eclarin's imagination to come to fruition in the form of their Franklin Avenue business.
State Champs opened March 17 and held its grand opening April 13. It's decorated with sports memorabilia and has four TVs.
The shop's arrival in Kent coincides with the booming popularity of women's sports across the nation. People from Alabama, Florida, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, and Washington D.C., are among those who have already stopped by.
“It's not a women's sports coffee shop. It's a sports coffee shop that plays women's sports [on TV],” Kopp said. “But it's not even we play women's sports. We play sports. Women's sports are sports. So it should be shown and it should be displayed just as much as the men's sports.”
“Women's sports are not other,” Eclarin added. “It's not like my favorite players are LeBron [James, Stephen] Curry and then Caitlin Clark, Sue Bird. No, they're said in the same sentence because women's sports are sports, and I think we're finally seeing the media catch up to that where they're realizing how talented these women are.”
For Eclarin and Kopp, becoming influential figures in Ohio's sports scene isn't confined by the walls of State Champs.
They are supporters and partners of Cleveland Pro Soccer's bid to secure a National Women's Soccer League team for Cleveland. They dabble in sports podcasts.
They aspire to one day open a “third space” facility where children can play sports and study while their parents enjoy coffee. They would like to eventually branch out with shops in Canton, Cleveland and Columbus. They have targeted Canton as an ideal place to be headquartered.
Backing collegiate athletes is another part of the State Champs ethos. It has name, image and likeness deals with Ohio State women's basketball player Cotie McMahon and Kent State football player CJ Harris, whose mission to raise awareness about epilepsy through a nonprofit organization appeals to Eclarin and Kopp.
Harris, Cleveland State women's hoops player Destiny Leo and Los Angeles Sparks guard and Jackson High School graduate Taylor Mikesell attended the grand opening of State Champs as special guests. They mingled with customers, adults and kids alike.
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Eclarin and Kopp explained their goal is for State Champs to be approachable and casual. They have a desire for people who visit the shop to feel as if they're part of a group chat or in on a joke. They want patrons, including those who don't know much, if anything, about sports or coffee, to know they are welcome.
“Our menu is simple on purpose,” Eclarin said. “It's called the lineup because it's based on 11 players on the pitch or the field.”
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Eclarin and Kopp have organized monthly events, such as an adult scavenger hunt and a kickball tournament, under the State Champs banner.
It's not unusual for bubbles and sidewalk chalk to be available to kids outside the shop's front door. Depending on the day, there could be a mini-basketball hoop or cornhole boards set up. In its first month of operation, State Champs supplied about eight dogs with their first pup cups.
“Our vibe is fun,” Kopp said.
Details about State Champs sports coffee shop
Address: 427 Franklin Ave., Kent
Phone: 330-844-6755
Hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
Website: statechampsco.com
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent coffee shop State Champs celebrates women's sports
