Kositchek’s, a fourth-generation, family-owned business in Lansing, was a familiar sight for downtown visitors and drew people from outside of town, and lobbyists from the Capitol to shop.
The business, which specialized in menswear and fine apparel, will be closing permanently, said Matt McLeod, the store's manager, and employee of 45 years.
A bad storm forced the store to close around two years ago when heavy rainfall caved the roof of the store in, destroying the interior and the store's inventory, he said.
"It was something totally unplanned," Matt said. "It was just a miracle that it happened at night and not during the day because somebody probably would have been hurt or killed."
McLeod said for the past two years, staff have been going back and forth, deciding whether to repair the store and reopen, or close for good.
Ultimately, they decided to close permanently. Retirement was just around the corner for many staff members, and it would have been too stressful to try and reopen, McLeod said.
"The primary people involved in the business were at an age where it was going to be very difficult to start all over again and undertake such a venture," he said.
It's also difficult to find tailors and workers with the skills necessary to replace the existing staff, as they had years of experience, McLeod said.
There also are not any Kositchek family descendants to take on the family business, he said.
"David (the store's owner) was the last of the Kositchek's," McLeod said.
The business was doing well, and it being over 150 years old made the decision all the more difficult, he said.
"It was a big, emotional hurdle to get over to make that decision but in the end, I think it was the right one," he said. "You have to take care of your health and that was more important."
McLeod said unfortunately there aren't a lot of retailers in downtown Lansing these days.
He said Kositchek's drew in people from outside of town and even people from out-of-state. He said a lot of their customers were lobbyists. They had in-house tailoring and a hair salon.
"We were kind of an island I guess, we were unique, it had been our home for so many years," he said.