Samuel's Tuxedos & Gifts will have a new owner and a new look in January.
As current owners Sam and Linda Bushman retire from the business, businesswoman Hannah Spalding will take over Samuel's Tuxedos at 236 E. High St. in Jefferson City.
Spalding, who has a degree in fashion, had been looking for a fashion-related career opportunity.
"Then, all of a sudden we heard that Samuel was selling, and I just wanted to be the one to carry on Samuel's in Jefferson City," Spalding said.
Spalding will focus on men's formal attire, which means other items like toys and Christmas collectibles will go away in January, and the "gifts" will be dropped from the name. The store is having an inventory-reduction sale.
Construction will start at the beginning of January, but a section on the right side of the store will still be available for tuxedo fittings and rentals. Spalding said she expects the left side of the store to open in one or two months after construction begins.
The store will have a simple design with a "man cave vibe," Spalding said. It will include deep forest green walls, wall paneling, new flooring, a higher ceiling and a lounge area with a leather couch in the middle of the store.
"It will be less cluttered and more business-like, but still warm and inviting to wedding parties," Sam Bushman said.
Spalding will gradually bring new inventory in, including suit jackets, suit pants, dress shirts, ties, bow ties, dress socks and cuff links as well as leather goods, cigars and other gifts.
The Bushmans will still be around at Samuel's after the sale to assist Spalding in learning the trade.
"I'm excited because we're on our third generation dressing up young men for their weddings and proms and stuff, so hopefully they're going to carry on and be dressing up another three generations," Sam Bushman said.
Bushman started his career by selling tuxedos at a department store in the mid-'70s. After more than 40 years in the business, he decided it's time to pass the torch. He will continue as Cole County presiding commissioner and plans to run for another term next year. Linda will continue to run Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden's office at the Capitol.
Samuel's Tuxedos is the oldest full-service formal wear store in Central Missouri, according to its website. The shop opened in 1991 as solely a tuxedo shop, and the Bushmans added gifts and collectibles later. Other than the added inventory, the store hasn't changed much since it opened.
"I think this is really meant to be," Sam Bushman said. "Hannah is a younger person who has a lot of ideas we haven't even thought of. She can come in and have a fresh vision of how she wants it. They're going to remodel it, and it will be her vision of what Samuel's should be -- and I think that's wonderful."
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