In Columbia, South Carolina, a family menswear store called Brittons will close for good on Christmas Eve, after 79 years in business.
When asked why they were closing, the owners did not talk about rents, online shopping or the economy. Their answer was simple: “Because we’re tired.”
Nearly eight decades of service
A menswear shop that lasts 79 years has dressed several generations of the same families. It is the kind of place where a man buys his first suit for a school dance, then comes back for his wedding suit, and years later brings in his own son. Staff know their customers by name, remember their sizes and know which of them prefer a softer shoulder or a longer jacket.
Brittons has been part of life in Columbia since the late 1940s. Its last day, on Christmas Eve, will also be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
An honest answer
What has touched so many people about this story is the owners’ reply. Running a small family shop is hard work. It means long days on the shop floor, buying trips, accounts, alterations and staff, often for decades without a real break. Sometimes there is no crisis behind a closure. The people who have given their lives to a business simply decide it is time to rest.
What independent shops give a town
When a shop like this closes, a town loses more than a place to buy clothes. It loses advice, alterations, a friendly face and a sense of continuity. Big chains and websites can sell you a suit, but they rarely know you.
That is what independent menswear shops and tailors do best: they get to know the person they are dressing. We wish the Brittons family a very happy and well-earned rest.
