Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 9, 1993 TAG: 9312090059
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG LESMERISES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Beau Brummel was doomed not by poor business, but by a failed business partnership, according to the store's owner, Rusty Lester. He expects to close by mid-January.
"We had a nice customer base," Lester said. "There are plenty of men out there that want this.
"The demise of the store was the demise of a partnership," he said. His three former partners could not be reached for comment.
The 1,600-square-foot shop in the Grand Pavilion, across from Tanglewood Mall, opened in November 1992. At that time, Lester said he hoped it would be the first of several Beau Brummel stores to open across Virginia.
"We made a decision to close the doors rather than have the doors closed," Lester said.
He said there is a market in Roanoke for finer men's clothes, but he didn't have the time to make it work. Lester also owns three Frances Kahn women's clothing stores, in Grand Pavilion, Lynchburg and Richmond.
"It was strictly a business decision," Lester said. "I was taking as much time on one men's store as for three women's."
by CNB