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Back On The Rack
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DEBBIE L. SKLAR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
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osins is out and
Jack's Place is in.
That's what has
happened in the
men's clothing store
shuffle on South-
field Road between
11 and 12 Mile
Roads in Lathrup Village.
Financial woes forced Kosins,
at one time one of Detroit's re-
tailing institutions, to close
its doors for good this fall, and
Jacks Place moved in after a 20-
field, into the former Kosins
store.
"I wanted a more centralized
spot," Mr. Kappy explained. "It
was just time to move on."
Mr. Kappy said he spent more
than $200,000 to remodel the
7,500-square-foot former Kosins
store, which is twice as large as
his Northland location. There are
plans to renovate the upstairs
and add it to the shopping area.
Twenty-one employees, all
with at least 20 years in the cloth-
RY FNN TRI EST
TH E DETROIT J EWIS H NEWS
Jack's Place moves
from Northland
Shopping Center
into the site of the
former Kosins men's
clothing store in
Lathrup Village.
The Kappys talk with Arnold Siegel, who designed the store's window displays.
year stay at Northland Shopping
Center in Southfield.
It was in early November
when owner Garry Kappy
decided to merge Jack's Place and
his other men's clothing store,
Portofino, also located in South-
ing business, work at Jack's
Place, including a few from
Kosins. Ben Kosins of the Kosins
family spends some time at Jack's
Place a few days a week.
Even though Mr. Kappy still
enjoys being involved in the busi-
parents worked in the clothing
business, Garry Kappy came to
Detroit in the late 1940s.
After working as an usher at a
movie house, where he gave away
free dishes on Wednesdays, Mr.
Kappy got a job in his cousin's
downtown Detroit clothing store
as a stock boy.
Mr. Kappy left his cousin's
store after three years to open his
own men's clothing place in
Wayne. Shortly after, he realized
he was too far away from his Jew-
ish customers, most of
whom lived near Dexter
Avenue in Detroit.
"It used to take me 45
minutes to get to work. It
was too long," he said.
Mr. Kappy sold his busi-
ness and relocated to a
store called Jack's Place in
the Dexter-Davison shop-
ping center. He kept the
name, but the store was on
the move again five years
later to Livernois and Sev-
en Mile in Detroit.
"Boy, that was a fancy
area then," Mr. Kappy
said. "Livernois was
known as the Avenue of
Fashion and it was just
like New York City; people
walking and shopping at
all hours."
When he moved to Liv-
ernois, Mr. Kappy thought
about changing the name
of the store, saying it
sounded like a bar. His
salespeople convinced him
to keep it, however, telling
him he'd been successful
with it, so why change?
Over the years, clients
and friends mistakenly
have called Mr. Kappy
"Jack." The only time he
takes notice, however, is
when his wife Viola refers
to him by that name.
"She does that when
she's mad at me," Mr. Kap-
py said.
Business boomed for
Jacks Place on the Avenue
of Fashion and in the ear-
ly 1960s, Mr. Kappy ex-
panded the store to include
chandise, focusing on Italian de- the entire block he was on.
signs and high-fashion attire. His next move was into North-
Among the big names are Pal Zi- land.
"At the time, Northland was
leri, Zannetti, Rubin Interna-
tional, Lou Myles and Fabrizio the place to be," Mr. Kappy said.
"It was in a good location and it
Cellini.
A native of Poland, where his was new." ❑
ness he first bought more than
40 years ago, he says his son
Ira Kappy, 37, really runs the
show.
"Right now, Garry Kappy is
taking it easy," Mr. Kappy said.
"The store is in good hands with
Ira and the people who work for
me. I have very loyal employees.
Gwen Burns, who has been my
secretary for 19 years, is like part
of our family."
Ira Kappy says the new Jacks
Place carries a variety of mer-
r,