New adult store in Elkhart raising eyebrows over location, proximity to schools

ELKHART, Ind. -- A new store opening Friday in Elkhart has caught the attention of its new neighbors.

It's not so much because of what's being sold there, but where it's located.

Romantix specializes in adult toys, novelty items, and things of that nature.

But it's what sits a 15-minute walk from here that has people upset.

"I think there's a lot of misconception," said Josh Porter, Vice President of Operations for Progressive Retail Management, the company that owns Romantix.

As Josh Porter prepares to help open the new Romantix location on South Nappanee Street, he knows there is a stigma surrounding stores like his.

But he wants to set the record straight about what goes on.

"People still have the old style of an adult store in their mind. As I said before, we are not an adult store, we are a general retail store and the products that we are selling are comfortable for anyone that is 18 plus. I think the world is moving in a very positive direction as far as sexual wellness goes, and we're just trying to lead the way," said Porter.

The distance between Mary Daly Elementary, West Side Middle School, and Romantix is about a 15-minute walk.

Porter acknowledges the proximity but says the store accounts for privacy -- so curious minds can't sneak a potential peek inside.

"Our name is fairly innocuous; we don't put anything on our signage that would lead anybody to believe in any certain direction. We make sure the lower half of our windows are blanked out so you can't see in, so there's no kids that are looking in," said Porter.

Porter tells ABC57 anyone entering the store will have their identification checked.

In addition, he says anyone entering Romantix won't see any adult movies, books, or any sort of pornographic materials.

"As far as an adult store goes, the company that we replaced, family video, they had an entire room that was about 250 square feet of adult DVDs, in this very building, and we don't. No magazines, no books, no DVDs, no anything along those lines, no form of media. That's part of the old school mentality, and the old school style," said Porter.

Porter says some people come into Romantix stores just to learn, and he says they, and all others who are 18 and older, are welcome.

"I really think it would be great for everyone from Elkhart to come down and take a look at the store, come through, see the products we offer, there's something in here for everybody, anyone over 18 is welcome," said Porter.

ABC57 reached out to Elkhart Community Schools to get their thoughts on this matter, and they declined to comment.