D.Hilly, a newer clothing store in
Sandusky Mall, traces back to a conversation between its owner, Billy Hill, and his oldest daughter, Taylor.
They were mourning the loss of his son and her brother, De’Yon, who died at 21 in 2019.
De’Yon, the elder Hill says, had pushed his sister to get a nursing license, and this father saw a need for his daughter to channel her energy in a positive direction.
“I told her, ‘If you go to nursing school, what I will do … I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do yet, but I’m going to do something in memory of him also,’” Hill recalls during a recent phone interview.
After thinking about it, he decided to launch D.Hilly, the merchandise of which is aimed largely at young men such as De’Yon.
![]()
The clothing at D. Hilly is geared toward young men. (Photo/Courtesy of Billy Hill)“(Taylor) graduated from nursing school in November last year, like a week before I opened my store on November 19,” Hill says. “We actually just did something to commemorate him.”
The store felt like a fitting tribute to De’Yon for a couple of reasons.
“Well, he was definitely fashionable, just as all my kids are,” Hill says. “They all love fashion.”
Plus, De’Yon worked at the Finish Line location at the mall.
Nonetheless, Hill, a lifelong Sandusky resident, chose the Perkins Township shopping center for his new venture only after visiting the mall many times, on different days of the week and at different times, and coming away impressed by the number of potential customers.
“I considered downtown Sandusky, and we are doing a great job with our downtown,” he says. “The traffic flow down there has increased tremendously with the (redevelopment of the Jackson Street Pier) and the different types of investments (the city has made), but it still hasn’t been enough for me to say that retail can be strong and can withstand down there.”
Offering what Hill calls sportswear and urban clothing catering roughly to ages 13 to 40, D.Hilly joined the mall at a time when its owner, Niles, Ohio-based Cafaro Company, has been working to improve it during what generally is a tough time for such shopping centers.
“Cafaro’s been real helpful with helping me get in the mall as a company,” he says. “They were very helpful.”
Hill has a wealth of management experience from years working for the McDonald’s Corporation and Walmart.
“So when I put something together,” he says, “it’s definitely professional.”
In fact, he says, customers often assume D.Hilly is but one location in a chain of stores.
“Some asked me the other day, ‘Is this something all over?’ That’s exactly what they said. I said, ‘This is just locally owned by me.’”
These first several months of D.Hilly’s existence has gone well enough that Hill recently resigned from a job he’s had for years to work on the store full-time.
The store largely is a reflection of his sense for what will sell, as he is not tied to any companies’ clothes.
“I don’t really stick to any particular brand because fashion always changes,” he says. “And there’s just so many lines out there – I mean, new up-and-coming lines, people doing things out of their basement. I just try to keep it fresh.”
And he’s a one-man band.
“I do everything – I do it all, from marketing to ordering to processes,” says Hill, who regularly travels to clothing showcases around the country.
D.Hilly remains a work in progress, of course, with Hill only recently installing a neon sign that incorporates De’Yon’s face. There’s no store website, and he’s not yet using a computerized cash register.
Next on the agenda, though, is appealing to the ladies.
“I’m going to get into women’s clothing,” he says. “I’m gonna get into women’s, and that’s going to happen probably May 1.”
He also may try to add some hat lines.
“Right now, we’re just trying to expand, take care of our customers (and) bring an excellent product at a great price,” he says.
His clothing for young men has become popular beyond the Sandusky market, with visitors coming from Tiffin, Findlay and as far as Canada, he says. And then there are the Mansfield folks.
“They have an option to go to Sandusky or go to Columbus – same distance, same (drive) time,” he says. “The difference is they might not want to deal with the hustle and bustle of the city. They might just want to hit Route 4, Route 250, all the way here and just deal with Sandusky.”
He knows some of his traffic can be attributed to year-round attractions such as the Kalahari Resorts location and is looking forward to his first year in business during a Cedar Point season.
“Come, really, (spring) to Christmas, it’s gonna be nonstop.”