All day Monday, customers tested the front doors at Novack?s ? as if not quite believing the signs saying the quirky downtown store is closed, preparing to close forever.
Owner Paul Caplan said the travel part of the operation and its uniform division will remain open at the King St. building, which his family owns.
He expects the retail store will close by the end of the year.
All three parts of the business were doing well, he said, but the decision ? months in the making ? was a matter of honing his limited efforts.
?You only have so much energy and whatever you do, you want to do well,? he said Monday.
Customers were stunned to find the store windows plastered with ?closing forever? signs. Items will be as much as 73% off when the 73-year-old store reopens for business Thursday.
Caplan said this chapter in the store?s story is just the latest in its evolution over the years.
A large part of the business has become a uniform operation, its major component a specialty fabric for paramedics that repels pathogens. He said that business has had some ?exceptional? years, with major customers in North America and as far away as Africa.
The Caplans have always been big boosters of downtown and that enthusiasm remains strong, he said. ?We happen to be downtown. We like downtown and we?re staying . . .
?We?re going to use the physical space we have now? to operate the uniform and adventure travel business, he said. Online business orders are expected to continue to grow.
?It took me a while to come to that place? of closing the retail operation, he said. His children are entrepreneurs in their own right but do not want to operate a retail store either.
With some employees headed to the uniform division, about seven staff will need to find other jobs.
Over the years, shoppers could find everything in the store from lumps of coal for Christmas stockings to coveted Canada Goose coats and a full line of Tilley clothing and top-end tents.
In a 2009 interview, Sandi Caplan said her personal favourites are the duct-tape wallets, while Paul liked the X-ray glasses.
There is also a working periscope, from a Russian submarine, which Caplan purchased in the U.S. in the 1990s in a James-Bond-like episode.
He has never disclosed the price he paid for it but said Monday it?s ?priceless.?
He and Sandi are looking to find the periscope a good home where the public can continue to enjoy it.
Caplan emphasized they love downtown London and intend to stay in London.
The store is closed Monday through Wednesday this week and will open Thursday with all items discounted.
?I?m overwhelmed by the affection that?s coming through,? he said of comments to The London Free Press website and on Twitter.
All customers who come into the store have smiles on their faces because most are planning on setting out on a new adventure. That optimism and good spirit has kept the business going this long. ?It?s infectious,? he said.
He and Sandi also intend to spend more energy in community service, expanding the time they already spend with London agencies such as the Children?s Aid Society, Women?s Christian Association and Brescia College. They have also been long-time boosters, mentors and advisers of downtown businesses and of business owners.
?We love it and we want to do more of it,? Caplan said. ?We just love this city and we love making a contribution to it.?
debora.vanbrenk@sunmedia.ca
twitter.com/DebatLFPress
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NOVACK?S TIMELINE
- Harry Novak opened the King St. store in 1939. The store?s name evolved into Novack?s when a rookie sign maker misspelled the family name and Novak didn?t have the heart to correct the well-meaning young man.
- It opened as a music and luggage store and evolved into army surplus goods before morphing again into its status now as a top-end outdoor outfitter and adventure travel story.
WHAT OTHERS SAID
?I think a lot of people in London owe them a debt of gratitude for bringing that novel, neat store that they?ve been for so long. I?m not surprised. (I?m) a little saddened by it because I?m a customer there also. I?ve spent many Christmas present monies there. . . Downtown is an evolving and eclectic mix of tenants and operators.? ? Bob Usher, president of the London Downtown Business Association and general manager of Covent Garden Market
?While we will miss the outfitting store, we are proud to welcome a very successful international uniform operation and look forward to seeing its growing success. We are delighted that the Caplans have chosen downtown for the next phase of their business when they could easily have chosen an industrial park.? ? Janette Macdonald, general manager of Downtown London
?It?s tough to see anybody who has been here since 1939 (close). It hurts the core. It feels like you?re losing a friend.? Together with the closing of neighbour Bud Gowan Antiques, it shows downtown is evolving but not waning. ? Colin Nash, fourth-generation owner of Nash Jewellers?
| 0% 0 votes | Yes  |
| 0% 0 votes | No |
Source: http://www.lfpress.com/2012/11/19/downtown-london-business-icon-novacks-closing
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