Anchor Retail is the only woman-owned firm on Crain’s Cleveland Business’s list of the Largest Commercial Real Estate Brokerages in Northeastern Ohio, ranking 14th. Founder Tori Nook hopes sharing her story will inspire others, especially women, to reach for success.

Eight years ago, she had a role at an established brokerage firm, serving as a high-producing retail tenant rep broker with solid, long-running client relationships. “I didn’t ever plan on opening my own company,” said Nook. But the busy mom of three children then under the age of 5 then abruptly parted ways with her employer. In hindsight, Nook credits the move to divine intervention, saying God closed a door on a work environment where she was unhappy and opened a door to a new opportunity. Industry colleagues and longtime friends were quick to reach out with job offers or places to park her real estate license until she figured things out, and she was grateful for the support.

A tenant rep job with another firm wouldn’t allow her to keep the restaurant and retail client relationships and the business she had worked so hard to earn, as most of her options had brand conflicts among their clients. “That was really what it truly came down to: I represented so many tenants, and I wasn’t willing to give up one,” said Nook. While she didn’t plan to start her own company, clients and her husband had been planting that seed for years. “I thought: This is clearly the time,” she said.

Launching her own tenant rep firm wasn’t actually a big leap, considering that the entrepreneurial aspect is what first had attracted Nook to brokerage. “The sky is the limit on where you want to take your career,” she said. “What you put in is what you get out.”

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Nook first stepped into real estate at the age of 19 while she was a student at John Carroll University in Cleveland. She landed an internship at a residential real estate company, and when the agent for whom she worked suggested Nook get her real estate license, she did. Her next internship was at a commercial real estate firm in Cleveland, which led to a job at the Samuel Schaul Co. during her last year of college. By the time she graduated, she already had a solid base of experience as an agent, from prospecting and pitching clients to executing a letter of intent.

After almost two decades building her experience and relationships, it came time to start her own business, and she turned to one of those relationships. She and Charles Townsend, founder and principal of Anchor Associates in Cincinnati, had referred business to one another in their respective cities for many years. They entered into a 50-50 partnership to launch Anchor Retail in Cleveland in November 2016. Townsend continued to operate Anchor Associates in Cincinnati as a separate entity, and Nook served as principal and managing broker of Anchor Retail in Cleveland until 2019, when Townsend retired and she bought out his interest in Anchor Retail.

Since opening, the Cleveland operation has grown to seven agents, and in 2020, Nook opened a Columbus office, which is staffed by two agents. She added investment sales and in 2023 partnered with Mark Jablonski to offer third-party property management. Anchor Retail also is a member of Realty Resources Network in Ohio.

“Tori is one of the hardest-working brokers in the business. She eats, sleeps and breathes retail brokerage,” says Anchor Retail executive vice president Greg Guyuron, who represents another of her long-term professional relationships. The two had worked together at a previous company, and he was one of the first brokers she hired when she launched Anchore Retail. “She’s very good at connecting with people and networking as a whole, getting her name out there and making sure that she knows everybody,” he added.

Nancy Mozzachio, then an executive at Cedar Realty Trust, met Nook about 17 years ago when the REIT had purchased some properties in Ohio and was looking for a broker. “What really stood out to me is that Tori just knew her market so well. She was extremely thorough and just understood the markets that we were in better than anyone else we had talked to,” said Mozzachio, now managing principal of Sine Qua Non RE Advisors in Philadelphia.

More Relationships To Come

Now, Nook is still doing what she loves: making deals. Crain’s Cleveland Business recognized her among its Notable Leaders in Commercial Real Estate in 2023, and Tradewire Columbus named her the No. 1 retail tenant rep broker for November 2024. “I’m proud of the fact that we all have not only maintained the same long-term relationships with clients that we’ve had, but we’ve also gained so much business, as well, through our reputation and referrals,” said Nook. She has been a longtime member of ICSC and is active in a variety of industry groups like The Pipeline. She also earned a spot on the 2025 CREi List of Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate.

Woman-owned brokerage offices are rare, and Nook has tried to stay visible through social media, LinkedIn Live broadcasts and speaking on podcasts. “What that’s doing is showing other women that it can be done and it’s not something to be fearful of,” said Mozzachio. “She wasn’t a single woman when she started her business — she had three small children, a husband and a full life — and she still made it happen.”

It was important to Nook to create a company culture that is anchored in hard work, kindness and respect and that provides no place for workplace drama. “The culture here is everything to me, and I wanted it to be different than where I came from and what a lot of brokerage firms are like,” she said. She plans to continue to grow the Anchor Retail offices in Cleveland and Columbus, and she is open to expanding in other markets with the right partner. She stated: “I’m not someone who’s going to sit and stay stagnant.”