“It’s very sad — it’s been a part of our whole lives,” Depew said. “We will miss the multiple generations of customers we served and the nice friends we made.”
Rife Jewelers was founded in downtown Dayton in 1937 by M.C. “William” Rife, whose shop in the Wurlitzer Building on South Ludlow Street sold items ranging from jewelry to toasters to electric shavers.
Rife’s son Tom joined the business in 1950, and later that year, the father-son team opened a second store at Rife’s current location on Far Hills Avenue.
Tom’s two daughters, the current owners, worked in the store as children. After high school both worked in other occupations, but ultimately returned to the family business. The downtown Dayton store closed in 1962, and the Oakwood store expanded twice, taking over a neighboring bakery in 1968 and a beauty salon in 1995.
“For many years, we were the only jewelry store between downtown Dayton and Lebanon,” Merker said.
But several jewelry stores, some along Ohio 48 and many more in or near the region’s shopping malls, have opened in recent decades.
Merker’s youngest daughter, Erin Todd, has worked part-time for the family business for 18 years, “but she has two young children and didn’t want to take on the whole thing by herself,” Merker said.
The store has launched a going-out-of-business sale, and its final days of business will come in late spring or early summer, depending on how long inventory holds out, Merker said. Jewelry is marked down 20-60 percent, and giftware — including pewter and silver items, wedding gifts, baby gifts and seasonal items — is 15-50 percent off.
For more information, go to www.rifejewelers.com or call (937) 293-0043.
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