Treats Squire and Bridal Shop
Treat’s Squire Shop has been a cornerstone of downtown Plymouth for decades, and is currently owned by Gary Treat along with his mother Ajean Treat. Treat’s father, Budd Treat, opened the business in October of 1966.
Treat recounts the tale of his father opening the shop. Treat begins, “My father was from Plymouth, and we were living in St. Louis at the time. He wanted to move back to his hometown and start his own business. I believe he was 36 years old when he decided to come back home and open Treats.”
Like father, like son, Gary Treat ended up taking over the family business years ago, and it fit him like a second skin. “It was definitely the long range plan of mine, yes, to take over eventually,” says Treat. Treat continued, “I went to college and took a job with a major retailer in Miami, Florida for about six years. I was also a buyer for a number of years. I moved back here in 1987.”
“Change is constant in the shop,” Treat explains, “That’s what retail is all about, making big changes. Infrastructure, logo, everything. We have everything for men to wear from business to casual to pleasure, anything they might think that they need.”
“We have everything across the board. We sell a lot of $200 suits and we have a few $3000 suits. We have $39.99 dress pants for a regular pair of men’s dress pants and $349.99 dress pants imported from Italy that are among the finest in the world. We have a wide selection and range of materials and quality and color and brand to choose from and whatever you need you can find right here for the right price.” Treat added.
“What we offer here that cannot be found in any other store in any other place anywhere is that our buyers and myself go to market and we see the entire realm of men’s apparel from the really cheap and poorly made to the best and most expensive in the world and we edit the market to fit our customers in a 60 mile radius. We save you a lot of time and trouble and do our best,” explains Treat.
Treats Squire Shop also features a bridal shop. “I opened the bridal shop in 1993. I saw an opportunity and ran with it. As with the squire shop we always research better fabrics and better designs and better processes in order to give you the best for the best price,” says Treat.
Lillian Carmichael, a customer of Treats, gives a glowing review of the shop. “For my wedding I knew I wanted a local experience. I needed people that knew what the were doing and were good at it. I also needed dresses I could afford. A wedding is expensive enough without adding on all the dresses and tuxes and shoes. I saw Treats when I was walking downtown one day and I originally went in to look at tuxes for my brother and fiancee for the ceremony. I was immediately greeted with a friendly face and and explanation of their services. I explained that my wedding was coming up and they showed me that they had a bridal shop. It’s absolutely magical up there. I felt like a princess. I bought my wedding dress and all of my bridesmaid dresses from Treats and would never change a thing. Even if you don’t have a reason to shop there, just stop in and experience it for yourself. It’s well worth the trip.”
Treat ends with a call to the community to shop local. “Shopping local gives back to the community. Every time you spend money in a local store the people in that store spend money locally and it becomes an ecosystem of positive effects. If you don’t have any local stores you lose jobs, and attraction for new people. I think it’s interesting when people say there’s nothing in Plymouth. Come downtown and give us a shot. All we want is a chance, an opportunity if you will, to provide you with great service,” concludes Treat.
Treats Squire and Bridal Shop can be found at 308 N Michigan St in downtown Plymouth or on their Facebook page.