Opening in 1929, the store was passed down to Mike Foy from his dad and grandfather.
>> Foy's reveals its top-selling costume
Here’s what to know about Foy’s and its founding family:
1. Mike Foy’s grandfather, Albert, opened a sweet shop bakery in Versailles in 1912 that he owned for 17 years before selling it to the current owners, who still have it open for business.
2. In 1929, Albert opened up the variety store in Osborn, which later became Fairborn.
3. Albert chose Fairborn because of the boulevards that used to be downtown. And it wasn’t too far from the original shop in Versailles.
4. Mike’s father Norman took over the stores in the 1940s, then Mike became partner in 1978. Mike’s 22-year-old son will be the fourth generation to take over the stores.
5. Mike grew up in and around Fairborn and still to this day only lives a few miles away in a renovated church.
6. There are six different stores including the variety store, kids costume store, adult costume store, haunted house and special effects store, restaurant and haunted museum.
7. Mike’s wife Darla runs the costume store and their son runs the haunted museum.
8. Mike bought his grandmother’s house one block away from the store, that no one has lived in for 30 years, and the property across the street for the pirate scene just to decorate it for Halloween each year.
9. Mike has eight hearses that he uses for Halloween. When the hearses come out, the community knows it’s Halloween time.
10. Mike personally picks out and orders each item for the stores.
11. Foy’s gets costumes in year round and new items in each day. It is Halloween year-round at Foy’s.
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