Play It Again Sports is expanding into the Scratch Kitchen restaurant’s original space right next door.
The new and used sports equipment and gear store at the 7400 block of Madison Street is part of a national franchise and buys used sports equipment from customers. As the Forest Park store co-franchisee Erich Krumrei explained to the Review, this model is especially popular with parents, because kids go through a lot of sports equipment, and this allows them to save money while reducing waste. He and his wife, Rachel Caskey, opened the store in 2021, leasing the space that previously housed a Hallmark store.
Krumrei said that the expanded floor plan will let them carry more inventory. They also plan to add batting cages in the back of the original space. Krumrei said that he is responding to the demand from the community – Forest Park simply doesn’t have many spaces where players can practice, especially during cold weather.
He anticipates that the expanded store and the batting cages will open in February 2024.
Krumrei said that they had a “great success” with the store – something that he attributed to the demand for what it offers.
“Kids grow out of their equipment so quickly, and to offer parents the opportunity to trade in used equipment and buy something else for their athlete — there’s nothing else around [in the area] that will allow them to do that,” he said.
Another factor, Krumrei said, is that some kids may try several different sports, and the cost of equipment can add up. If a child doesn’t like a sport, he said, the parents can trade the equipment in, saving money and keeping equipment out of the landfill in the process.
Krumrei said that the cages would take up about 3400 square feet. They will be geared primarily, but not exclusively, to kids and local teams.
“We want to make sure we offer something that is a clean, fun space where people can come in and practice and train, that is not going to break the budget,” Krumrei said, adding that, as someone whose own kids play sports, he was very aware of just how few options there were in the area.
He said that he expects to offer extended hours for batting cages, but those details haven’t been finalized yet.
Scratch Kitchen left its original space for the larger digs at the former Slainte Irish Pub last spring. Play It Again will be leasing the space, which will allow them to increase inventory.
“I think it’s kind of a natural growth to the business,” Krumrei said. “We’ve been successful.”
He said he believes that the expansion would help the Madison Street commercial corridor as a whole.
“We’ve had a great success with the store and the support in the community, selling gently used equipment and new equipment, and we’re really excited to have batting cages in the back of the store, which we think will bring business to the store, and the business corridor here on Madison,” Krumrei said.
In the two years since it opened, Play It Again Sports has sponsored local sports teams and various causes. Krumrei founded what has become the village’s annual Pride celebration. He said that he received nothing but support from the village government and the Forest Park community in general.
“I feel very fortunate to have a business in Forest Park,” he said. “It’s been a very good fit.”
Correction: The article has been updated to accurately reflect the dimension of the batting cages.