Hanover Clothing Company closing doors after 94 years

One exchange with a customer at Hanover Clothing Company was all David Dubs needed. 

The owner absorbed the details after one meeting: a customer's name, shirt size or favorite sports team.

Dubs' goal was to make everyone feel like a friend.

"I try to remember something about everyone who comes in," Dubs said.

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Dubs, who has owned the longtime Hanover clothing retailer since 2005 as the sole proprietor, announced Saturday that Hanover Clothing Company will sell its entire inventory and close its doors.

The store will remain open until all inventory is gone. 

"It's a dream to own your own business," Dubs said. "That's why we stayed at it for as long as we did."

Economic instability throughout the decade and a 2014 Lupus diagnosis put a strain on Dubs, who finally reached the decision to permanently close the store. 

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"I'm very fortunate because Lupus is not a death sentence," he said. "It's a chronic inflammation disease, and it's a fatigue issue." 

Dubs took pride in making clothes shopping easy for men. 

"Typically guys don't like to do this. They don't like to shop," Dubs said. "What I tried to do is make that experience a little bit more delightful for them. It made me happy when I would hear them say something to their wife like, 'Well, that really wasn't so bad.'" 

In 1923, Ike Blumenthal, a scrap collector, helped his son, Harry, open Hanover Clothing Company. Harry sold the business to his son-in-law, Courtney "Corky" Brickman in 1974. 

Dubs and his former brother-in-law, who worked for Brickman since 1994, bought the store in 2000, and Dubs became the sole owner in 2005.

In 2014, Dubs moved the business across the street from its original location at 42 Carlisle St.

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At the time, Hanover Clothing was one of three downtown businesses, along with Famous Hot Weiner and Culp's News Agency, still in its original location from 1923.  

For Dubs, the hard part about closing is the relationships he made while helping people look their best. 

"That's the part I'll miss," he said. "Customers become friends; they aren't customers."

Extended hours

Hanover Clothing Company, 43 Carlisle St., will be open for extended hours from Oct. 26-29. The store will open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Oct. 26-27; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 28 and noon to 4 p.m., Oct. 29. 

A private sale will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 25 by invitation-only. 

The store will return to regular hours the week of Oct. 30 and will remain open until all inventory is sold. 

Reach Lyzz Jones at 717-634-3057