The clothier The Black Dog stayed true to its South Coast roots Saturday afternoon, when the company celebrated the grand opening of its second outlet store at Wareham Crossing Saturday afternoon.

The new store welcomed in a steady stream of customers into its 1500 square feet of retail space, selling T-shirts with the well-known logo of a black dog with a red collar around its neck, sweatshirts, and home gift items, at reduced prices of 30 – 40 percent off the regular costs.

“I think [the store] will be very, very successful ... with the outlet prices,” Manager Naomi Cook said.

Cook also has confidence in financial success of the Wareham throughout the course of the year.

“I was born on the Vineyard, so I know the brand and how it sells," Cook said. "And we have people from all over the country coming in.”

The Black Dog's company history dates back to the late 1950s when a retired Air Force captain from Chicago, Robert Douglas, decided to make Martha's Vineyard his home. He embraced the nautical lifestyle of the island by building a ship, and finding a loyal black dog to sail with him.

Years later, in 1971, Douglas purchased an inn, and turned it into a tavern, naming it after the black dog that sailed with him. Vacationers of Martha's Vineyard eventually took to the tavern as a must-see destination spot, and by the 1990s, sales of T-shirts from the tavern's gift shop skyrocketed.

As the brand gained world-wide recognition, The Black Dog began expanding beyond its tavern and store location in Vineyard Haven. In the 1990s, the company opened up additional general stores and bakeries on Martha’s Vineyard in the towns of Oak Bluffs and Edgartown.

In 2003, the company ventured on to the “mainland” when it launched retail stores in Falmouth and Provincetown. Over the course of the next ten years, stores opened in Chatham, Mashpee, Newburyport, Nantucket, Newport, Rhode Island, Mystic, Connecticut, Portland, Maine, and Annapolis, Maryland. Earlier in 2015, stores opened in Rockport, Mass. and Savannah, Georgia. The Columbus Day weekend opening of the outlet at Wareham Crossing is the Black Dog's second outlet location, the first being a smaller outfit at the Dockside location of Oak Bluffs.

According to The Black Dog's creative director, Susan Nebreski, there were two reasons why the company chose Wareham Crossing as the location for an outlet store. First, Nebreski said, the company was already very familiar with the town of Wareham, as The Black Dog's warehouse is located on Patterson Brook Road.

The second reason is that the company was looking to maximize profits generated by holiday sales. The Black Dog's smaller Dockside/Oak Bluffs location closes in the winter and doesn't get fourth quarter traffic coming in. Nebreski feels the Wareham Crossing location will be able to perform well with fourth quarter profits.

“Our brand has found niche casual fun,” Nebreski said. “We want to remind people about vacation, while keeping an eye on fashion.”

The Black Dog's grand opening invited the Providence radio station 98.1 Cat Country to publicize the event. Trips to Martha’s Vineyard with free dinner at The Black Dog Tavern were also raffled off.

Wareham resident Janet Blades was shopping at The Black Dog outlet at the grand opening. Blades thought the opening was "great."

"We spend a weekend in the Vineyard every year, too," Blades said. "We're always over there visiting their Black Dog. I think it will do great at Wareham Crossing.”