The Clubhouse was founded in 1979 by Lou Torti. It all began as a weekend hobby selling Caps and Jerseys for the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB and NCAA, in Ottawa Ontario at the Stittsville flea market. At this time selling Caps and Jerseys of licensed apparel was not big business and sports fans who wore the caps and jerseys were cult like followers of their favourite teams. The fanatical fans could not find quality apparel for their favourite sports teams. The idea of buying a football or hockey jersey with stitched numbers for your favourite player was in its infancy, and Lou Torti saw an opportunity.

Lou quit his job and took a chance on earning a living in a field he loved, sports. Thus began the first Clubhouse store location at 1556 Merivale road in Nepean. The Clubhouse was the only retailer in Ottawa Ontario that specialized in selling crested Jerseys and Caps for all major sports. By the mid 1980's, NHL, NFL, and MLB Jerseys, Caps and other licensed sports apparel, such as New Era baseball caps were starting to be more closely looked at by larger retailers and big business entrepreneurs.

Competition heated up and other retailers began selling similar licensed apparel and vying for a piece of the Jersey market. The Clubhouse early on differentiated itself by finding imported product and focussing on fringe cult followings in the sports apparel world. Business was good for all involved and trends such as Starter Jackets and the adoption of sports apparel in the urban world began in LA. This created a boom in business throughout Canada and attracted even more competition. Just when the business of selling Jerseys and Caps seemed it was going nowhere but up, the early 1990's recession began. The hot licenced apparel market seemed insulated from the recession until 1994, when Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League both had player strikes. Sales dropped a punishing 47%. Not only did the strikes alienate many big sports fans but it also killed the Montreal Expos Baseball Club. A club loaded with talent and fans with world series expectations were crushed by the season ending strike. The Montreal Expos were the closest to a home team Ottawa had in major league baseball and many die hard fans are still bitter over the loss.

As dark clouds always have silver linings, while the strike killed business it also killed competition. The Clubhouse saw 7 new retail stores that had opened to compete in the Ottawa area close their doors. The good times were slow to return.

In 1996 Chris Torti (Lou’s Son) at the age of 24, opened a 2nd Clubhouse location in the Ottawa area. Chris had learned from the experiences of his father that solely selling licenced sports apparel had its perils and decided it was time for The Clubhouse to diversify its focus. A new line of private label hoodies and track jackets were introduced into the mix of apparel they sold. This and a focus on not only licensed sports caps but specialties such as Authentic New Era caps and custom Fitted New Era 59Fifty baseball caps has differentiated The Clubhouse from other retailers. In fact our Limited Edition program of New Era custom fitted caps is more popular than ever. We work hard to ensure our custom New Era fitteds are unique. We custom order 30 per team for the city of Ottawa and we never repeat the same style. Large retailers like LIDS who sell custom new era caps can not match the uniqueness offered by our line of custom fitteds.

Once the 2004-05 NHL Hockey strike was upon us, it appeared that the development of these other lines of apparel up to this point would prove most beneficial. Again other retailers ill prepared for such an event, suffered and eventually were forced to close their doors. Through the turmoil other sports apparel retailers were experiencing, The Clubhouse found opportunity. Chris opened a new location at The Rideau Centre which is now located on the 3rd Floor between Mexx and The Body Shop. Some good years followed in which The Clubhouse reinvested into warehouse operations and new equipment. Now at The Clubhouse we offer Custom Embroidery and do corporate orders. So in addition to the expertise gained with years of numbering Hockey and Football jerseys the Clubhouse has now established itself as a go to place for small business promotional needs. This further diversification will ensure our flexibility to market forces.

In the summer of 2008 Chris expanded and re-located the Kanata store location to the Kanata Centrum. At the Kanata Centrum near the AMC movie theaters and an eye shot away from Sport Mart, Pro Hockey Life and Sport Chek, The Clubhouse in Kanata is now located close to complimentary stores and with mall draws such as Wal-Mart, Chapters and Starbucks it is a far busier area with more shopping options for customers.

The Clubhouse has never lost site of its main focus. Quality. We always strive to impress with great service and great quality. This story is far from over, in fact it is really just the beginning.....