Scoville Jewelers to close at the end of December

By Gordon Woodworth, Chronicle News Editor

Sixty-four years after it opened in the heart of downtown Glens Falls, Scoville Jewelers is closing.

“Debra [Vales] and I are retiring and the store will be closing the end of December,” Chris Scoville told The Chronicle.

He said they’ll exit on a high note.

“We’ve been blessed, for the last year and a half business has been amazing,” Mr. Scoville said. “We thank our customers. We have thousands of customers. From July of 2015 to now, business has been fantastic.

“After a terrific December last year, I promised Debra in January that we were going to retire and we were going to make it happen.”

Another factor in the decision is that “downtown is in a great place,” Mr. Scoville said. “I’ve spent my whole life being a champion for downtown. I wouldn’t have made the decision to do what we are doing if I felt we were going to be selling downtown short…

“If downtown were depressed, then we’d end up with an empty space. And there are some empty spaces on Glen Street that have been there for years.

“But we’re in a different place. 2017 is going to be the best year ever, I think, for the City of Glens Falls and for downtown.”

Mr. Scoville said they’re looking to rent both the first-floor retail space and the apartment where they live on the building’s second floor.

“We own the building,” he said. “And we will continue to care for it. Of course we want revenue from the first floor. I’ve already started reaching out to potential tenants. We’re going to sell all of our fixtures, all of our showcases. We’re going to make it ready for a new tenant.

“I’m very, very confident we will fill the space. It’s a great building, a great location. We’re great landlords. I’m not worried about that.”

Mr. Scoville said he’s talked to several multi-store jewelers and believes the space is set up nicely for a business “with a service component. I’d love to get an Apple store.”

They have listed their 1,800-square-foot second-floor apartment for rent at $1,995 a month, not including utilities. Three more apartments on the third floor are rented.

“One of my dreams would be to have [the building] completely rented, not be tied down, go out in the world and check it out and see where we want to be in the winter, because we know we don’t want to be here for the winter, and then perhaps rent a place on the lake for September and October. Debra’s favorite time of year is the fall.”

Mr. Scoville said he and his wife talked to their daughter, Casey Hammer, about taking over the business.

“I’m sure she could handle the jewelry business. She has chosen not to. First and foremost she is a mother. She has three children, our three grandchildren. And she has seen, both with my mother and father and then with Debra and I, that a business is all consuming, and sometimes the kids have to wait. And she doesn’t want to do that.”

The decision to close “didn’t come easy,” Mr. Scoville said. “When I watched the toll that each day would take on Debra — I observed her physically getting tired at the end of each day — she looked much more rested and at peace in the morning than she did at night. And that was a physical thing that I could see.

“And I thought if that’s going on on the outside, it can’t be doing any good on the inside.”

He said, “We’re looking at this as a rebirth. We love to travel. That’s the first thing on our agenda. 2017 we are going to travel the east coast and Europe looking for a winter destination.

“So many people have a place where they go in the winter every year. We don’t have that. So we’re going to check out the Carolinas and Georgia and Florida and Europe and Manhattan to see if we can find a place where we’d like to spend the winter.”

Mr. Scoville’s parents, Montgomery and Shirley Scoville, founded the business in 1952. Chris, 68, and his wife, Debra Vales, joined Scoville Jewelers in 1975 and bought the business in 1985.

Mr. Scoville said, “I’m proud that we were able to keep it going….You would be hard-pressed to find a business today that was operated by the same family for 60-plus years. There are some, but it’s a special club. I’m proud of that.

“I’m also proud that I gave as much of my time and energy to the City as I did to my business. I think, in retrospect, if I had been singularly focused and only paid attention to my business, maybe I would be able to afford a place on the lake year-round. Maybe I wouldn’t be driving a hybrid Ford, maybe I’d be driving a big car. Maybe I’d have a boat instead of having to go on someone else’s boat.

“But I did what I felt was important. I’m so proud that the farmers’ market continues, that Take a Bite flourishes, and so many other things that I helped make happen. I’m proud of that as well.”

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