08/10/2026
"There's nothing to do in the Mon Valley!"
"All we ever get are more dollar stores."
"What's it going to take to get some family entertainment options?"
I've heard those statements — and said them myself — for as long as I can remember. My family moved to Fayette City in 1982. The Mon Valley has a few things for families to do, but not nearly enough. We pale in comparison to areas like Greensburg, Washington, and Uniontown. Investment comes into the area, but rarely in the form of something new to actually DO.
We used to have a movie theater. A drive-in. A batting cage. Those have been replaced by an empty lot, a Walmart plaza, and another empty lot. Our shopping options have changed, too. People still talk glowingly about Hills and K-Mart. It makes you wonder: years from now, will anyone feel nostalgic about what replaced them?
A few months ago, when GE bought the Amcel Center, our 25-year-old company was suddenly faced with a cloudy future. I could have chosen almost any path. We could have gone back to being internet-only. We could have moved farther away. We could have dramatically downsized. I could have even decided that, after 25 years, it was time to do something else entirely.
Instead, we chose Monessen. And we chose to take a chance on the Mon Valley.
What we're building is going to be wildly different from the Remixxd you've known. An arcade. A candy shop. A soda bar. Game Nights. Community events. Food trucks. More surprises we haven't even announced yet. We're leaning harder than ever into the ENTERTAINMENT part of our "Retailtainment" philosophy. Because I think this area needs it.
When we announced the move, I genuinely didn't know how people would react. We're leaving the industrial park. We're leaving the warehouse. We're coming down to street level, where everyone can see us. We're making the commitment. We're making the leap. It's time to walk the walk.
And the response has been overwhelming. The messages. The comments. The shares. People stopping us in public to talk about it. There has been an incredible outpouring of support. But one thing I've heard over and over has stuck with me: "Thank you for taking a chance on the Mon Valley."
That means a lot. Because that's exactly what we're doing. It's a calculated risk. There are no guarantees in business, and we just came through a very up-and-down five-year stretch. Such is the life of an entrepreneur.
But somebody has to take the chance. Somebody has to believe that families here deserve more things to do. Somebody has to believe that people WILL support businesses that invest in this community. So we're going to find out.
We're not just moving Remixxd to Monessen. We're building the kind of place I've wished the Mon Valley had since I was a kid. And if the community continues to believe in us the way it has so far, I think we're about to build something really special together.
The new REMIXXD is coming. And we're betting on the Mon Valley. ❤️
