Westport Small Business Spotlight: Sports Attic

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. And that’s the belief behind this series — to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

Business Name: Sports Attic
Owners: Gregory DiLenge
Website: sportsatticct.com
Address: 26 Railroad Place, Westport 06880

How did you come up with the name?
We are an offshoot of our family's store in Westchester and thus we decided to keep the name SPORTS ATTIC in the family. While this is not a franchise and our business models differ slightly we are at heart a family operated business and what better way to honor our family and inspiration than keeping the name.

Why start a business in this town?
Westport was the clear choice from the beginning for us, we saw a hole in the sporting goods market in Fairfield County and when looking into locations we thought Westport would be perfect because this town evokes a sense of community and family. We understand sporting equipment can become very expensive and we believe we can deliver a great product, new or lightly used at a much cheaper price than any other store in the area or even online.

Briefly, what business are you in?
Sports Attic is a new and quality pre-owned sporting goods store. We offer our customers the option of selling back gear they are no longer using for cash back on the spot. (consignment is also available upon request)

What’s the most difficult moment or challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?
My wife and I recently welcomed our 1st child, departed New York City after 15 years and opened a new small family run business in a very short period of time. Starting from scratch in several ways all at one time is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge. Our next challenge is getting our message to the families of Fairfield County. We want them to know that they do not need to spend $300-$400 to outfit their son or daughter in new sporting gear. We charge much less than the competitors and also offer quality used product as a great alternative.

What’s been your favorite moment or proudest achievement since opening?
Other than welcoming my 1st child, my proudest moment thus far was outfitting a family who recently visited our store in a combination of new and lightly used lacrosse equipment for $200 less than our competitors in the area. The parents were so thrilled at the price that they purchased a 2nd set of new Lacrosse equipment for their younger son and decided to enroll him in the Westport PAL Lacrosse program as well. Initally they were not going to enroll him for another year because of the cost of equipment but decided to go for it because they know with our buy back program they will be able to sell us the equipment back at the end of the season. One of our many goals in opening this store is to work hand in hand with local sporting programs in the area to increase participation and enrollment.

How does your business give back or get involved in the community?
We are planning on starting a donation program for a few key sports that we feel are most prevalent in the area. We have discussed this plan with our major equipment manufacturing accounts, our goal is to get starter and end of the season gear donated to help us launch this program. We will direct our attention to this program once we establish our presence in Westport and Fairfield County.

Photo credit: Sports Attic, Westport

Would you like to see your small business showcased on your local Patch? Give your answers to the same questions as above and email them, and a photo, to: alfred.branch@patch.com. Be sure to put Small Business Spotlight (and the town) in the subject line. Profiles that are incomplete or that answer different questions will be rejected.