Clothes Encounters: Lourie’s says goodbye

After 38 years of operating his family’s business, Frank Lourie says his only regret is that there is not another relative to pass the business on to. It would have been nice to have someone who would have taken the charge and fought on through these tough economic times.

“I suppose I wish there was a younger cousin. But there was nobody else to hand it off to,” said Lourie, 60.

Lourie’s will shutter at 6 p.m. Saturday after 96 years of selling fine men’s wear. The store first opened in 1912 in St. George. In 1948, the family moved it to Columbia’s Main Street.

A very slow economy and consumers’ holding their purse strings tight delivered a year of slow sales to the men’s store. Attempts to build capital through a sale of its building at 1601 Main St. and plans to lease a smaller space did not work out in time to save the business, Frank Lourie said.

For the past month, the store has held a liquidation sale. And its once-overstocked inventory of designer suits, ties, shoes and shirts is now almost bare.

“We’re almost 80 to 85 percent sold” out of stock, Lourie said.

During the past few weeks, Lourie said so many people have told him that they were going to miss the store and its service.

“We been so touched by so many of our customers coming by and reminiscing with us,” he said.

There was one customer who sent an anonymous letter to Lourie and apologized for shoplifting three items at the store 42 years ago. The customer included a money order for $200.

Lourie has accepted the apology.

Another customer, one of more than 50 years, said the store’s closure has devastated him and his family.

Flynn Harrell, a Lourie’s customer since the late 1950s, said the store “really set the standard for quality merchandise and attentive service.”

All of his suits were custom-ordered at Lourie’s. His father and his son were also Lourie’s customers, Harrell said. “We will miss the store. And we wish godspeed to the Lourie’s family.”

Lourie and a few staffers will spend the coming weeks cataloging and selling the store’s fixtures, Lourie said.

He said he is proud that his staffers — especially those who have worked with him for more than 20 years — already have found jobs using their retail experience. “I was very concerned for them,” Lourie said.

With close to four decades as a business owner and manager, Lourie said, “I’ve earned a Ph.D. in life.”

“I’m thinking about teaching. I’ve become certified to teach business education. I really want to help people.”

• Willy’s makes a comeback for lunch

Bill Dukes, owner of the Willy’s bar that closed last spring, said this week that he will reopen the popular Vista spot as a weekday lunchtime eatery by Aug. 1.

Though the bar’s makeover will also include a name change — Willy’s Lunch at the Vista Room — it will continue to serve free boiled peanuts.

Its menu will include longtime favorites: the Willy burger (traditional toppings), the S.O.B. (swiss cheese, onion and bacon) burger, the pimento cheese burger, crispy/grilled chicken sandwiches and salads.

The new Willy’s will be at the old spot — 1200 Lincoln St. It neighbors Dukes’ other restaurant, the Blue Marlin.

• Retail chatter

• Butcher shop opens in Chapin: The Butcher Block Meat Marketopened this month at 500-C Lexington Ave. The shop sells high-quality beef, chicken and pork and numerous deli items.

• New retail postal center sets up shop in Irmo: The Crossroads Center Contract Postal Unit has opened next door to a Little Caesar’s shop at 6903-1 St. Andrews Road.

• Village celebrates the Fourth: The Village at Sandhill retail center in Northeast Richland will host its first July 4th festival. The event will feature live entertainment, starting at 3 p.m.

Each week, Delawese Fulton, retail reporter for The State, will provide the latest retail development news. The goal is to give you the skinny on the new stores in your neighborhood, as well as any businesses closing. If you have any retail news, contact Fulton at (803) 771-8659 or ddfulton@thestate.com.