Garys’ Men’s & Women’s Wear, a fixture in downtown Bellingham since 1978, will be closing at the end of a liquidation sale that begins Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Owners Gary and Barb Lupo opened their men’s clothing store on Oct. 4, 1978 in the Parkade building at 128 W. Holly St. Garys’ became the eighth independent men’s clothing store to operate then in downtown Bellingham, joining the ranks of The Toggery, Golden Rule, House of Provias and others.
“We wanted to serve customers who were looking for modern clothing, paid attention to fashion, cared about customer service and appreciated quality and value,” Barb Lupo said.
While the opening of Bellis Fair mall in 1988 was devastating to many downtown businesses, the Lupos stayed relevant by adding women’s clothing in 1989. “The mall didn’t significantly affect us,” Gary Lupo said. “Our customer base wasn’t mall shoppers. If we provided the right environment, we could be a good alternative.”
While Garys’ adapted to technology changes over the years by adding a website and blog and being active on social media, a constant theme was providing customers a new, fresh inventory and not carrying too much of any single item. “For a small store like this, we spend a tremendous amount of time in the marketplace, traveling to shows from New York to Los Angeles to find clothes that our customers would like,” Barb Lupo said.
While the store has been doing well, after nearly 40 years in business the couple wants to spend more time with family members – particularly grandchildren.
“It’s been fun – we’re done!” said a laughing Barb Lupo.
Garys’ won’t be bringing in additional vendors for the liquidation sale, so it will truly last as long as there is inventory. The store is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, call the store at 360-733-2180 or visit www.garysbellingham.com.
