Duncan & Boyd Jewelers, one of downtown Amarillo, Texas’ most enduring businesses, is closing.

Local media outlet Amarillo Globe-News reports that husband-wife owners Ron and Cheri Boyd will retire and close the store they’ve helmed for the past 51 years.

The shop launched an open-ended going-out-of-business sale today, in hopes the retailers can sell off an estimated $6.5 million in inventory, Ron Boyd told the Globe-News.

The sale kicked off with a private showing for VIP customers, running today through Saturday, then will open to the public on Monday.

The store launched in 1923 as Wagner’s Jewelers, and Ron Boyd was hired by then-owner John Duncan (son-in-law of founder Fred Wagner) in 1967. Soon after, the shop was renamed Duncan & Boyd, and Ron bought the store from Duncan, who was retiring, in 1985.

Ron told the outlet that he’d been considering retirement for the past seven months—a thought that’s been spurred on, at least in part, by the pain and inconvenience of two recent back surgeries.

But the store’s poor holiday 2017 sales cemented the notion for the veteran retailer.

“December was kind of the nail in the coffin,” he told the Globe-News. “It’s normally a great month, but this time, it was half of what we normally do.’”

In addition to running one of the city’s stalwart small businesses, Ron served two terms as an Amarillo city commissioner and has served on numerous nonprofit boards, including the United Way of Amarillo, the Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation, the Amarillo Area Foundation, and Panhandle PBS.

In retirement, Ron said he and Cheri plan to spend even more time serving their city and its residents.

“This is where we live and make our home,” Ron told the Globe-News. “We want to do everything we can to help this community.”

(Image: A recent photo of the Duncan & Boyd Jewelers staff, courtesy of Duncan & Boyd Jewelers)

 

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