MINERAL POINT - An avid Steelers fan for nearly half a century, Lorrie Lorrco loves sporting the colors of her favorite team.
Her quest to find black and gold merchandise led to her offering others the chance to buy items through first a mail-order business and later a store she runs from her home.
In 2003, Lorrco needed to build a 600-square-foot addition to her home as Lorrco's Steeler Shop grew. The expansive showroom emulates a cozy, home-like atmosphere, with family pictures and treasures nestled among the inventory filling the room and covering the fireplace mantel, corner bar, entertainment center, couches, chairs, tables, shelves and window ledges.
Lorrco said she orders from nearly 40 companies and suppliers to provide hundreds of different Steeler items, attracting shoppers from across the region mainly by word of mouth.
In her inventory are Steelers toasters that imprint the Steelers logo on bread, a Steelers countdown clock, a talking Steelers train and limited edition 3-foot bobblehead dolls.
"I try and keep my prices reasonable and affordable and offer a nice selection, with an ample supply and a wide variety of the more unusual items for my customers to choose from," Lorrco said. "I was a fan before I was in business, so I understand how excited people get when they see the new stuff. With the hype from the recent playoffs and now the upcoming Super Bowl, they are anxious to Steelerize their purchases as much as possible."
Prominently displayed in one corner of the room is a 7-foot tall Christmas tree adorned with dozens of Steelers ornaments Lorrco collected through years.
"I get a lot of compliments on my tree, and I think it shows customers how much fun it can be to collect Steelers items, like ornaments," Lorrco said.
Repeat customers like Kimmie Thomas of Mineral Point rave about Lorrco's store, crediting Lorrco's exuberant personality and wide selection of quality merchandise for why she has been shopping there for several years.
"Lorrie's store has a lot of neat stuff that you don't normally see in other stores and her prices are great," said Thomas. "I buy all my Steeler decorations for my restaurant, Kimmie's Kitchen, there. This year I bought the lighted Steelers jester hats for all my waitresses to wear, and customers loved them. I even send my customers there to shop."
Though Lorrco's store usually closes after the Super Bowl and reopens prior to summer training camp in Latrobe, she will be open later this winter if the Steelers win on Sunday.
"Steelers fans are special and unique, sharing a connection that bonds us together like family, one big Steelers Nation family," Lorrco said.
