By the end of the year, one staple in the Ridgewood community will be closing its doors for good.
The 1/2 Price Kids shop, located at 60-84 Myrtle Ave., must have everything out of the building by Jan. 1, 2016, because the property was sold at the beginning of the year and this is the store’s last month of its lease.
The kids clothing and accessory store has been a part of Ridgewood for 17 years, and the owner Robert Elbaz and his family have been in business on Myrtle Avenue for nearly 70 years as they were the original Wonderland Youth Center. 1/2 Price Kids is known for selling popular brand-name merchandise at low prices.
“We are one store that is different from any other kids store on Myrtle,” said Ely Kairey, store manager for the last eight years. “We specifically deal with brand names. These are the brands people want and people come here for. People can’t believe that we are closing.”
The reason many people are upset that the store is closing is because of the personal attention the employees pay to the customers. Being a clothing store that carries items for newborns all the way up to teens allows for a lot of repeat customers, and 1/2 Price Kids cares for their customers.
“We have a connection with the customers,” Kairey said. “We have a motto at the store: if it doesn’t look good on you, we won’t sell it to you. It’s not about making a sale, it’s about making the customer happy.”
The closing of the Ridgewood store has not stopped Elbaz from continuing to look for other opportunities to keep the store in Ridgewood.
“We’re dying to stay in this neighborhood. We are going to keep looking for other stores here,” Kairey said. “This neighborhood is unlike any other neighborhood. Even the BID [Business Improvement District] has been great for us. Ridgewood is a definitely a place you want to live.”
Even though 1/2 Price Kids will be closing their Ridgewood location, they have two other locations — one in Brooklyn and one in Mount Vernon — as well as a website where customers can continue to shop.
