Retail tenant rep broker Tori Nook shares how she built Anchor Retail, closed $1B in deals, and what's driving Ohio's commercial real estate market.

Tori Nook has spent 26 years doing the work most brokers don’t: driving unfamiliar markets, calling landlords who aren't listed anywhere, and building national rollout programs one relationship at a time. The result is over $1 billion in closed deals and a women-owned brokerage with offices in Cleveland and Columbus serving national credit tenants.

In this episode, Tori joins host Shanti Ryle for a wide-ranging conversation covering her unconventional path into retail CRE, what it actually takes to succeed in tenant rep, why she was fired before starting her own firm, and what Ohio's tight retail market looks like from the ground right now.

• Welcome to The Crexi Podcast
• Tori Nook's bio and billion-dollar track record
• Fresh hall of fame news and finding time for life
• How a sophomore elective led to a CRE career
• Getting licensed at 19 and cycling through three brokerages
• The client who was impressed by a 24-hour callback
• Why tenant rep is not for the unorganized
• Get in the car: finding off-market deals no database can surface
• Cold calling into Dollar Tree and AutoZone rollouts
• Getting fired and launching Anchor Retail in the same breath
• Opening Columbus and co-founding Anchor Property Management
• Why Tori finally got on social media (and what it cost her not to sooner)
• The Houston dinner that turned into a major tenant rep account
• Why Tori doesn't cold call anymore — and hasn't had to
• Writing "Intuitive Certainty": business, spirituality, and ignoring the voice
• The difference between a boundary and fear in disguise
• Ohio's retail market: leased up, beverages booming, grocers arriving
• As-is deals, trimmed TI, and how tenants are staying competitive
• Where restaurants are struggling and why downtown hasn't recovered
• The Ohio pitch: low cost of living, high disposable income
• Rapid fire: $50M, bad advice, and a contrarian Midwest take

Tori Nook is the Principal and Founder of Anchor Retail, a woman-owned brokerage firm specializing in tenant representation for national retailers and restaurants. With twenty-six years of experience, Tori has closed over $1 billion in deals and built long-term relationships with clients including AutoZone, Academy Sports, Dollar General, Signet Jewelers, PetSmart, Panera Bread, Wahlburgers, Bath & Body Works, Urban Air, Skechers, Sweetgreen, and Lands' End.

Tori has been recognized as a Crain's Cleveland Business "Top 40 under 40," Notable Woman in Real Estate, and Notable Leader in Commercial Real Estate in Northeastern Ohio. She was awarded "The Mother of The Bread" by Panera Bread and named the #1 Tenant Rep broker in Columbus, Ohio, by TRADEWIRE Columbus in 2024. In the last few years, she was voted a "Top Woman Influencer" by CREi Summit (2025 & 2026), recognized as the #48 LinkedIn Influencer, and awarded GlobeSt 2025 Woman of Influence in Broker-Tenant Representation. Her book, Intuitive Certainty, releases in late 2026.

A graduate of John Carroll University's Boler School of Business, Tori is licensed in Ohio and operates offices in Cleveland and Columbus. She serves on the board of Providence House, a crisis nursery in Cleveland, and is a member of the Realty Resources Network membership board and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Crexi’s podcast features conversations across all aspects of commercial real estate with industry leading investors, developers, brokers, and professionals. Among the top 5% of commercial real estate podcasts, The Crexi Podcast sits down with industry experts to investigate trends, educate listeners, and uncover the latest happenings and news in the world of commercial real estate. To listen to all episodes for free, check out The Crexi Podcast's full library here.

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