By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
After 62 sparkling years in Bucyrus, Romanoff Jewelers will be closing its doors by year’s end. The business begins its final sale for the public today.
Mike Romanoff, owner of Romanoff Jewelers explained that he is retiring on his terms not due to poor business or health.
“It is my 41st year. Obviously my father started the business in 1952. I started right out of college and I wanted to retire on my terms when I wanted to, not when I had to,” Romanoff said. “It’s just time to go out while I still can.”
Romanoff looks towards retirement. “I will be spending more time with kids and grandkids, and enjoying life while I still can.”
Romanoff explained that numerous customers have reached out since the announcement of the store’s closing.
“I have done this long enough that I am selling engagement rings to the kids of people that I had sold to. So I am in my second generation which has been fun,” Romanoff said. “I am going to miss them, and they tell me that they are going to miss me also. It has been very gratifying over the years.”
The Romanoff family began business here when Harold Romanoff moved to Bucyrus to purchase what was then the Lords Jewelers store. In 1960 Romanoff moved the business to its current location on the corner of Sandusky Avenue and Rensselaer Street and renamed the store Romanoff’s.
Mike who had joined the store in 1972 took over the business in 1985 when his father Harold retired in 1985.
Mike Romanoff reflected on that long history.
“Back in the early days when I was 13 years old, I used to come down and sweep the floors and do engraving,” Romanoff said. “But in the 1960s we used to sell lots of stuff from fishing poles to razors to luggage to crystals to china, lots of different things.”
While the retail side of Romanoff’s is closing, the store will remain open for jewelry repair, engravings, and custom orders.