BOARDMAN — The tennis craze of the 1970s gave rise to Suzanne Kessler’s career in fashion retail.

It’s what led her and her late sister, Kathy Kane, both players, and mom, Marge Cless, an instructor who between lessons at Avalon Inn and Trumbull Country Club made warm-up suits on a portable sewing machine, to open the Tennis Connection in Niles to fill the void for tennis clothing and equipment.

The store opened its doors Black Friday 1975 in the same Youngstown Warren Road plaza that contained the Ski Chalet.

And that’s where it remained for 20 years until Kessler decided to move to Boardman. She had married and her sister had died. And with the change in location came a change in direction, from tennis and golf — the store had added golf wear over the years — to a fashion boutique for women.

“I guess I just felt like tennis and golf never changed that much, and I had been in that business for 20-some years. I like the changes of the seasons with fashion and jewelry and accessories, so we ripped down the sign and put up Suzanne’s,” Kessler said.

Suzanne’s at 813 Boardman Poland Road carries mostly U.S.-made clothing by women designers, from casual to country club dressy.

Kessler, a native of Warren who calls Liberty home now, marked 45 years in retail Nov. 27.

The Tennis Connection came through lean economic times to stay open, with the decline of the steel industry in Trumbull and Mahoning counties and when the tennis boom died down some.

She’s now facing the challenge of the viral pandemic.

“This has been unbelievable for as long as it has lasted, but during the first lockdown, it was scary,” Kessler said.

Her son, Henry, who works for a public relations firm in New York City, returned home because of the virus’ impact there and started taking photos of the store’s inventory and posting the pictures on the store’s Facebook page to stay in businesses.

Her loyal customers kept buying through the closure of nonessential businesses. The clothing was delivered locally or sent away across the U.S.

But it was masks that really helped the store stay afloat.

Kessler said she was receiving dozens of masks daily, overnighted from Los Angeles, which “cost a fortune,” but with the lack of personal protective equipment early in the outbreak, the face coverings were in high demand.

Masks were sent to her previous customers as far away as Florida, Nevada and Michigan. She also had a buyer in Cincinnati.

“I mean I don’t even know anyone in Cincinnati, but they saw it on our Facebook and then it just spread. They were like, ‘I have to call this store in Youngstown for masks,'” Kessler said. “Masks kept us going.”

“At first I didn’t think we’d ever sell another thing, and I thought, we’re going to go home and lock the door and so then my son started posting things and it got things moving,” Kessler said.

Kessler said her numbers are down some from last year, but aren’t terribly off. Another pandemic-related challenge, she said, is clothing shows aren’t really happening, so she’s relying on sales representatives to come to her store or line sheets from companies.

“I love this business, I love to see what women love to buy and wear, it’s such a challenge … It seems like time has gone by fast. I never get bored with this,” Kessler said.

rselak@tribtoday.com