The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Jax closing doors after long run
Running sales until closure at the end of February
Scott and Merle Beyers, owners and operators of Jax, a clothing at 36840 Detroit Road in Avon, are preparing to retire.
With their retirement, the store, which originated in Lorain, will close and they are in the process of clearing out the store with a business-ending sale.
The sale, which started Jan. 15, has everything at 50 percent off.
Items will be discounted even more each week until the store closes at the end of February.
“We’re retiring due to being in business for 36 years,” said Scott Beyers, who is 70 years old and runs the store with Merle, 71. “It is a store that has been in the community over the entirety of its run.
“We were originally a Lorain business. The business was on Pearl Avenue. It then moved in 1963 to Broadway between West Fifth Street and Eleventh Street.”
Beyers started working at the business in 1974.
“That’s when I came to work for Merle’s dad (Arthur Lipsin),” he said. “He brought me in and let me work for him for nine years, and then I bought it from him in 1983.
“Shortly after, we started to expand the business. We included two additional locations that we called Endless Summer.
We went over to East Erie Avenue and we also took advantage of retail space in the old Spitzer Hotel; it was a good spot. We also moved one spot out to Rocky River.”
The move
Beyers said the business, unfortunately, had to move out of Lorain.
“In 2005, we were looking for space that was available because we needed more traffic,” he said. “It was a time when Lorain was not bringing in as much business, and I was looking for a place for us to continue the business.
“I was looking at selfpreservation for us, and we realized we needed to find another location and go down to one store again. We then were shown this spot in Avon, we moved in October 2005.”
Beyers said he and his wife knew it was the right time to retire.
“It really wasn’t a difficult decision,” he said. “At age 70, I knew I was going to make the decision.
“I didn’t want to be running the store at 70, and I knew it was best for Merle and I to do a lot of other things we never had time to do.”
Beyers said the store will close down when they retire.
“It was something where I didn’t see the store going on when we were done,” he said. “It was something Merle’s father ran and then let me buy it and take over.
“I didn’t want to pass it onto someone else for fear about what would happen. It would break my heart if changes were made that would affect the legacy of the store.”
Beyers said he started at the store when he was looking for work.
“I had just finished with service in the Army, and I was looking for something to do,” he said. “I wanted to work on the airlines, but that was no longer available.
“I then went to work in the Cuyahoga Community College Theater Department. That’s when I met Merle, we got married and I needed more income. Her dad made me the offer to work for him, to later on buy the store, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
The origin
Beyers said the business was originally men’s wear.
“The original idea was professional wear for men,” he said. “It was dress wear, but the style has changed.
“When the business started, men dressed to go to work. The style was what you wore to work. There has changed over the years as men dressed more and more casually.”
Beyers said the change in styles led to Jax adding women’s clothes.
“It got to the point where we needed to supplement with women’s clothing,” he said. “We added it in, and it was a big hit with a lot of
folks in the area.
“We actually had, in the Spitzer location, almost entirely women’s wear.”
Beyers said he is looking forward to the freedom that retirement provides.
“When you own retail, you’re a prisoner to those hours,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve been doing for the past 46 years; you need time for retirement.
“The first 10 years is the ‘go-go’ phase when you are able to travel. The second 10 is more of the ‘slow-go’ and the final time is the ‘no-go’, so it’s important to retire when you have the time to enjoy it. We want more time to travel and it will give me extra time to golf, do woodworking and gardening.”
Beyers said he will miss the relationships with friends who are customers.
“The customers come in to see us,” he said. “Our recurring customers come in to see us.
“We have helped them find certain things and know what they’re looking for. We have become friends with them through the years. We will still see them in the grocery store on occasion, but the relationship will change.”
Merle Beyers said it’s been a great time operating the store over the years.
“The community has really embraced us, and we appreciate it,” she said. “We
look forward to seeing more of our kids (Zachery and Nicholas) and grandchildren (Utopia, 10, Elesia, 2, and Emerson, 2).
“The community has
been so supportive of the store for so many years, so we want to thank everyone that has come through the doors. We’re excited for what’s next.”