Eagles safety Rodney McLeod, owner of Back of House, hosts pop-up store in Philly

Imagine sipping a cocktail from a rooftop bar while shopping for clothes in Center City, the Philadelphia skyline draped in the background, a DJ pumping out music.

This daytime party is an experience Eagles safety Rodney McLeod wants to leave in the minds of Back of House shoppers.

“We feel that we bring high fashion in a unique way. We have a lot of statement pieces. We introduce a lot of our customers to brands they’re not familiar with,” McLeod said. “Obviously, we want people to grow the business, get more followers but most importantly take notice of the brand and what we are trying to accomplish.”

Back of House is a clothing store McLeod founded in 2017 to channel his inner love for fashion. The Washington native says the store is in the process of moving from its original location in Pentagon City Mall to one of the premier shopping districts in D.C., 8th Street.

Back of House has been hosting a multi-city “Under Construction”-themed pop-up tour leading to its November reopening. The store will pay homage to local designers in each city it visits, he said. The five Philly designers present during Thursday’s pop-up atop 3601 Market St. were Amed, Holloman, Society Standard, Glausangeles, and Dilo.

“We thought it would be great to come here, kind of give people the opportunity to buy,” McLeod said. “Have a shopping experience with us in a different way: whiskey tasting, some customizations, things going on.”

The brand, he says, is about “the culture.” He feels that the unique shopping experience and themed pop-up tour set Back of House apart from other trendy boutiques. The average price for a T-shirt is around $80.

“A lot of my teammates shop with me,” McLeod said. “Some locally, back at home. Some have shopped while we’ve been out here, so giving a lot of those guys the opportunity to shop where I shop, and we’re obviously here during OTAs so the timeline is just great.”

This was the store’s second pop-up tour in Philadelphia in the last eight months. He says that for now, Back of House is trying to develop a consistent clientele in D.C. but that the store might one day have a spot in Center City. That would put him in competition with fellow Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, co-owner of Damari Savile.

“I know we have a lot of great feedback but don’t really know what the future holds,” McLeod said. “Kind of just want to take it one step at a time. Get the D.C. market down. Grow the business. Grow the following.

"And then after that, we do want to branch out into more cities. So Philly could be a good landing spot for us.”