- November 23, 2024
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After 18 years at its current location, Granada Jewelers has launched a sale to clear out its inventory before closing.
BY PAULA BUCK | CONTRIBUTING WRITER
(Editor's Note: The store has now reopened. See the newest story here.)
Connie Miller, owner of Granada Jewelers, at 177 E. Granada Blvd., will be closing her shop — but not until her stock is fully cleared off the shelves.
She won't be liquidating, however. She wants the store's inventory staying in the city and in the hands of local customers.
"Our customers are like family," she says. "I will miss them. That part is truly bittersweet."
Displayed in wooden cases, jewels, watches, fragrance lamps and figurines sparkle as Miller describes the sale as a "big one."
"I want it to sell. I want people to have it," she said of her inventory. "Pandora will be 25% off. Lladro will be reduced by 40%, and discounts on jewelry will be from 40% to 80%.”
Miller and her husband, Bill, first opened their jewelry company as a kiosk at Bellaire Plaza more than 20 years ago.
“We sold gold, silver, watches and lottery tickets,” Miller smiled.
But now, the shop has become a local institution. It's been at its current location 18 years. "People count on us for changing batteries, repairs, honest appraisals," Miller said.
And so even after her husband died in 2011, she carried on. But now, she says, "it's just time to move on."
But she isn't alone.
Bob Summers, who Miller refers to as her "gaurdian angle," and his wife, Maria, both worked with the Millers years ago in Indianapolis, and they also currently help in the shop today. Mark Ferguson and Lianne Beach are part of the “team, as well. Sadie, an ultra-friendly Schnauzer, completes the roster, enthusiastically greeting the steady stream of customers.
“We have a lot of fun, and we also do a lot of work,” Miller explained. Every evening, for example, they store all the valuables in four huge safes — and every morning, they set it all up again. But now, even the safes are for sale.
Miller says that her favorite memory from all of her years in business is of a British couple who came in to buy engagement rings. As conversation progressed, the pair said they were ready to be married now but weren't sure how to do so in Florida. That's when the staff stepped up. They got in touch with the then-manager of Flowers by the Sea, a few doors down, who put his justice-of-the-peace knowledge to work and helped the couple make arrangements.
The Granada Jewelers team even "stood up for the couple" during the ceremony.
"We were all barefoot on the beach," Miller said. "And they tied the knot.”
Originally from Maryland, Miller plans to return there after the closing is complete for an extended visit with friends and family. She'll also visit Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where her husband grew up.
“But I’ll be back to look for a job," she added. "Actually, I’m going to keep the name of the shop just in case I decide to start again.”
Until then, though, the sale is on and the shop will remain open until all of the inventory is gone.
Call 672-9003.
