Jeannine Huffaker talks to Kathy Tockey of Fairfield as she
shops with her husband, Robert, at Brodkey's, Tuesday
afternoon at Cimarron Plaza. The jewelry store, and eight
other Brodkey's locations, will close at the end of May.
A statewide fine jewelry institution is losing its luster. Brodkey's Jewelers announced March 12 that it will close all nine of its stores, including the one in Hastings, by the end of May. Brodkey's has seven stores in Nebraska and two in Iowa.
The business, founded by Morris Brodkey in Omaha in 1880, was run by Morris and his three sons, Edward, Fred and David Brodkey. It has remained in the family through present day.
In a letter posted on Brodkey's online home page, the reason given for the company's decision to close is "the poor retail economy." The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early February.
That climate apparently did not include the Hastings store, which has been "holding its own" as one of the stronger stores in the chain, Hastings manager Mitchell Peoples said Tuesday.
"We're very proud of this store," he said. "But when you're a part of a chain of nine stores, you have to follow the front of the horse, so to speak."
To read more, see Wednesday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
