Levy's Clothier, widely regarded as the oldest family-owned men's clothing store in the country, will close its Green Hills doors in late December after 171 years in business. Fifth-generation owners David and Ellen Levy say the decision comes down to health issues and an upcoming lease renewal at their longtime home on Hillsboro Pike.
The closure marks the end of a run that began in 1855, when Zadoc Levy opened a merchant tailor shop on Market Street in downtown Nashville, in what is now Second Avenue North, according to Levy's Clothier. As reported by WZTV, the store survived the Civil War era, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and the upheaval of online shopping before arriving at this final chapter. David Levy, the great-great-grandson of the store's original owner, took over the business in the summer of 1998 and has served as its president ever since.
The retailer's physical footprint tells its own story of Nashville's growth. It moved from downtown's Market Street to Fourth Avenue North in the early 1900s, then to Sixth Avenue North in 1948, before settling into its current Green Hills location in 1978. That suite, at 3900 Hillsboro Pike in the Greenbriar Village commercial center near Abbott Martin Road, has been Levy's home for nearly five decades.
A Family Legacy Built Across Five Generations
David Levy joined the business in 1977 following the death of his father, Ralph Z. Levy Sr., and was formally named president in 1998, a leadership line that kept the store in family hands into the 21st century. That kind of continuity is rare in American retail: the Family Business Alliance reports that only about 3% of family-owned businesses in the country successfully make it into the fourth generation and beyond. Levy's made it to a fifth.
According to WZTV, David Levy called the decision to close bittersweet, and he said he feels proud looking back at the store's history. He also pointed to a more personal cost of shutting down, telling the station he will miss 49 years of friendships built over his time at the shop.
Green Hills' Rising Rents Add Pressure
The Hillsboro Pike corridor sits next to major retail draws like The Mall at Green Hills, a high-rent stretch where long-tenured independent shops often face steep increases when their commercial leases come up for renewal. That competitive real estate environment factored into the Levys' decision alongside the health issues they cited, per WZTV's reporting.
Levy's has long stood apart from typical mall retailers. The store has been continuously listed on Esquire Magazine's Gold Standard list of top U.S. men's specialty clothiers since 2001, and it curates luxury men's and women's apparel and accessories sourced from across the globe. Wardrobe consultants provide one-on-one shopping assistance, and the shop offers private appointments for customers who want a more personal touch.
One Last Custom Month Before The Final Bow
The store has designated September 2026 as Custom Month, its last opportunity for clients to receive custom tailoring before the doors close for good. Levy's in-house tailors and seamstresses, who normally offer alterations, repairs and completely custom garments, will provide special discounts on custom tailoring during that final stretch, and complimentary standard alterations remain available on full-price purchases in the meantime.
The store also served as a presenting sponsor of Nashville Fashion Week from its inaugural year in 2011 and received the organization's Fashion Forward Legacy Award in 2017, cementing its role well beyond its own storefront. Less than a year before announcing the closure, Levy's marked its 170th anniversary with a celebration for customers and community members on October 16, 2025.
Levy's Clothier is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at its Green Hills location and continues to offer online shopping at levysclothes.com ahead of the late-December closure. Customers are invited to visit the store and share their own stories before the final day arrives.
