Sudbury's downtown loses 3 well-known businesses

Three businesses areshutting their doors in downtown Sudbury this month.

The Black Cat magazine store closed its doors Jan. 1, andRecords on Wheels and Joe Lesar Menswear are expected to shut down in the next few weeks.

At Joe LesarMenswear on Cedar Street, owner Tony DAngelo is trying to clear out all of his stock by reducing the prices on merchandise by half.

D'Angelo has been working in menswear for 50 years and, for the last 15 years or so, hesaid business has been going down.

While DAngelo acknowledged the fashion industry has changed,he said he has a different reason for closing his store.

I want to retire, he said. Ive been in it a long time. Maybe do a little bit of travelling, goof around.

D'Angelo said he feels like its the right time to retire.

At one time, we had six salesmen [and] two tailors, he said.Its shrunk a little bit, because there arent as many people wearing good clothing.

On nearby Durham Street, another downtown store is getting ready to shut its doors.

The owner of Records on Wheels said his store will close at the end of January.

People just stopped buying music. People dont care about music anymore, thats the bottom line, Tony Anselmo said.

I mean, I put my blood, sweat and tears into this business over 40 years. But its a decision that had to be made.

Downtown about service

At nearby Sentia Hair Design,the owner there said things are actually going well downtown, despite these closures.

A lot of people really do like the convenience of the big box store, but they really arent getting the service, said Deb Brouse,who has more than 20 years of experience with different businesses inSudbury'sdowntown core.

And thats what I believe downtown is about.

Brouse said shes hopeful more upscale shops and restaurants will continue to move into the downtown core.