After surviving the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, Nashville retailer Levy's Clothiers will close its doors permanently at the end of 2026.
Fifth-generation owners David and Ellen Levy informed their staff on Aug. 19 of plans to close the Green Hills flagship after 171 years in operation. David Levy cited ongoing health issues and a desire to spend more time traveling with his family as the reasons behind his decision.
"This is not about expenses and cost," David said. "It's about doing what we need to do as a family."
While uncertain tariffs on imported fabrics, expensive rent, increased property taxes and other economic headwinds put pressure on businesses like his, Levy said the company isn't
closing because of business challenges.
"It's just time," he said. "Ellen and I like traveling. I can do it now, and because of my illness, I don't know how long it's going to be."
David and Ellen have two children and five grandchildren, but they decided it wasn't reasonable to pass on Levy's to a family member who doesn't share their passion for fabric.
"Everybody, even our in-laws, have other jobs, and they didn't want to spend the time here that they would need to," David said. "You really have to want to do this."
In fact, David's father advised him not to take over the business in the first place because of the amount of work required. But he loved it too much to let it go.
Levy's Clothiers' deep roots in Nashville
For the time being, Levy's remains one of the oldest, continuously operating, family-owned department stores in the United States of America.
Levy's made its Nashville debut circa fall 1855 after David Levy's great-great-grandfather Zadoc Levy immigrated from Germany. After the failed German revolution in 1848, Zadoc was among millions who moved to America. Once he settled in, he opened a custom tailor downtown on what would become Second Avenue.
Zadoc passed his store and tailoring skills down through the generations of Levys that followed him, and the business developed into a full-service tailor selling men's clothing, accessories and custom, made-to-measure suits. The store relocated a few times across town before landing in their current Green Hills location in 1978.
David Levy grew up inside, among fabric swatches, sewing machines and families who had been patrons longer than he had been alive. That's when he learned that being a successful clothier is more than selling clothes. It's about imbuing every suit with care, remembering customers' names and senses of style and building a community around the store.
David's father, Ralph Levy, took the job seriously. He didn't see it as a role he could turn on and off. It was his calling, and as a child, David felt a calling to follow in his father's footsteps.
"Retail is hard work, and to me, it's a seven-days-a-week job because I've always got something to get done, whether it's a deadline or time changed to a vendor in Italy," he said. "But what I really like is the people."
In recent years, one family posed for a photoshoot with four generations all in custom Levy's suits, from great-grandfather down to a baby boy.
Before that, Country Music Hall of Fame resident George Jones was a frequent customer. He would walk around the store singing aloud. Jones even wore an outfit from Levy's to receive a Kennedy Center Honor from President George W. Bush in 2008.
Sometimes staff members know customers' closet better than they know their own, as evidenced by one woman who came in looking for a new suit only for an employee to inform her that she had a tailored Armani already in her closet. Once she got home, she realized to her chagrin that the employee was right.
"It's a really special industry," Ellen Levy said. "And for us, it's based on relationships."
Why David and Ellen Levy won't sell the family business
In the months leading up to the decision to close, David and Ellen weighed their options. Their two children have established careers in healthcare and technology, so they turned to the thought of selling.
That idea was not long-lived. Ultimately, they didn't trust anyone else to carry on the Levy's legacy.
"I'm very protective of our family name," David said. "I was very careful thinking about that, and I don't think that's an option for what we do."
Ellen said the trajectory of closing rather than selling or passing down a store is not unusual for the industry.
"We are friends with a lot of companies who are in the same position we are," she said. "We're all the same age, and their kids are all doing other things."
With four months left until permanent closure, Levy's is prepared for an onslaught of customers looking to get one more perfectly fitting suit while they can. David and Ellen are also ready to help their employees, many of whom have been there for decades.
"We're going to hug them until it's over," David said. "Because they are like family."
It's been a challenge to keep the closure and his illness to himself, so David said he's looking forward to freely talking about both as he wishes. He and Ellen are also excited about traveling across the globe together to places like London, Florence, Paris and New York.
"Somebody told me today that you live life in seasons," he said. "It'll be a different season for us, just like we bought by the season. I kind of like that."
Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work,subscribe to The Tennessean.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's oldest family-owned retailer to close after 171 years
