Mills Jewelers is packing up its current Lockport storefront for a bigger home down the block, with plans to move from 51 W. Main St. to 16 W. Main St. next summer. The relocation will put the longtime jewelry shop in the former Towpath Hall building, nearly doubling its footprint to close to 1,800 square feet.
The move marks a six-figure investment for the business, according to a report from bizjournals.com, which described the new space as more than double the size of its current one. The new location sits about three blocks from the current storefront and will become Mills Jewelers' fifth home in downtown Lockport, according to the Lockport Journal, which reports that the new space is being designed by Retail Works Inc., a firm based in Milwaukee.
Heather Fritz-Bauer, who took over ownership after her father retired in June, is leading the expansion. Her father, George Fritz, has retired, and full ownership has transferred to her. The move will keep Mills Jewelers downtown.
A Family Business With Deep Lockport Roots
Mills Jewelers traces its founding to 1929, when Victor Schaefer and Leonard Rosenthal opened the shop in what was then described as the bustling little canal town of Lockport, according to paradedesign.com. The business has leaned on that history in its own marketing, with its website stating, “We've been doing it for 97 years,” though an earlier version of the same site put the figure at 93 years, an inconsistency the business has not publicly reconciled.
Ownership changed hands more than once over the decades. Victor Schaefer died in 1979, according to paradedesign.com, and his surviving business partner in California asked George Fritz, then still a young employee, to manage the store. Parade Design states Fritz purchased the remaining interest in the business from the family in 1989. The store itself has described Fritz's acquisition as happening after Schaefer died and his business partner left the area.
Mills Jewelers has been part of downtown Lockport for decades. In 1973, Lockport's government-sponsored Urban Renewal program demolished much of the old downtown and forced Mills to move, according to paradedesign.com. That same year, George Fritz got his start with the company as a paper boy whom Schaefer offered an after-school job.
What Shoppers Can Expect in the New Space
The new 16 W. Main St. location is planned to feature a ground-floor showroom, with offices and spaces for private design sessions on the upper floor, per the Lockport Journal. Mills Jewelers also plans to add more computers for custom jewelry design and a coffee bar where customers can wait while their jewelry is being cleaned.
The expanded technology lineup builds on services the shop already touts, including lasers for repair work along with custom design software and digital imaging, according to paradedesign.com. Over the decades, the shop's work has ranged from basic services such as ring sizing and chain soldering to full custom casting of original pieces.
Mills Jewelers maintains an Instagram presence under the handle @millsjewelers. For a business that has weathered a demolished downtown and changes in ownership, the move to 16 W. Main St. next summer represents another chapter in a story that has outlasted nearly a century of change on the same few blocks.
