New Mahoning Valley international candy store inside Eastwood Mall first in Ohio

Posted Jun 21, 2025

By Kelcey Norris - Mahoning Matters

In search of something salty, sweet, spicy or sour? Need a graduation or birthday gift for someone you know that loves to try new snacks from around the world? Head to the Eastwood Mall's newest retail store for unfamiliar varieties of snacks you won't find at an average supermarket, like thirst-quenching cream sodas from Pakistan.

At the end of May, Ali Hussain opened Ohio's first Exotic Snack Guys international snack store right next to F.Y.E. inside the the mall in Niles.

exotic snack guys store — The Eastwood Mall Exotic Snack Guys location joins 34 other stores across the U.S., including Chicago, Pennsylvania and Texas. Kelcey Norris Mahoning Matters

"We do business with Cafaro in other malls, so the Cafaro Company gave me an opportunity and I said, 'Let's try it," Hussain said. "We try to keep the balance of products 90% from around the world and 5 to 10% American stuff. We import from 40 countries."

According to Hussain, the community's response to the new store has been great. "I always recommend two chips: steak and roast chicken," Hussain said. "We also had UK Burger King Double Whopper chips. We sold out, but we're getting some next week again from the UK. It's taking time to get [due to] the tariffs. It used to come in two to four days. Now it's taking longer."

The Exotic Snack Guys company was started in 2023 by two friends of Hussain's, Zohaib Naman and Shafiq Rehman, who brought him on as a partner when the company expanded. "Two weeks ago on Saturday, I handed out 15% discount cards to every single employee working on that day in the whole mall," Hussain said. "We really appreciate the community over here, especially the marketing department at Cafaro."

The Eastwood Mall Exotic Snack Guys location joins 34 other stores across the U.S., including Chicago, Pennsylvania and Texas.

“Our rapid expansion is a testament to... the region’s appetite for exciting flavors from diverse cultures,” Rehman and Naman wrote online. “Let’s say if someone is looking for a birthday gift,” Hussain said. “Perfume, shoes, shirts-- old school. People like snacks. You don’t know what they would like? Just grab a mystery box, $25 - $50 and then give it to them. If you were to choose on your own, you could just buy whatever and ask the salesperson to put it in a box for you.” Exotic Snack Guys is open from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Sunday at 5555 Youngstown-Warren Road in Niles.