Jewelry

Royal Oak jewelry business Metals in Time is closing and moving out of a historic downtown building that its owner fears has intimidated potential customers into not stopping in.

Metals in Time has sold jewelry, watches and other accessories from the nearly century-old Wayne Oakland Bank building at 400 S. Main St. since 2006. It's three floors and 9,500 square feet. Owner Sergio Basmajian sold it earlier this year for less than $3 million, taking a "big loss," he told Crain's.

Metals in Time plans to move to another, yet-to-be-announced location, it announced in a news release Friday. Basmajian wants a smaller, more inviting location with easier parking access. He's looking on Main Street closer to an incoming parking structure, but would move west to Woodward Avenue if needed.

"We get customers who have walked by here for years and feel intimidated about coming in," he said in the release. "We want to get rid of any sort of impression that because we are in a historic, stately building you're going to overpay because that's not true. We're extremely competitive with our pricing."

The operation is shrinking and offloading its inventory, said Bill MacDonald, a retired jeweler who is consulting on the closing sale.

"He's got more inventory than I've ever seen," MacDonald said. "He's got a huge walk-in (old bank) vault with more inventory than we can put out."

The store started a closing sale Friday with prices up to 70 percent off, the release said. Prices range from $40-$40,000.

MacDonald said he expects Metals in Time to sell in its current space through the holiday season.

The building is listed on Colliers International's website. Crain's left messages seeking comment with Colliers.

Basmajian said the buyer of the old bank is 400 South Main Partners LLC. That entity is registered with the state to Norman Koza.

The loss on the building sale comes after Metals in Time paid $2.5 million for it and spent around $2 million converting the one-story building with a high ceiling into three stories, Basmajian said in an interview.

Basmajian graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in political science and psychology, but grew up immersed in his father's jewelry business. He decided to try it out and open his own store, he said in the release.

Metals in Time originally opened in 1998 at 322 S. Main St., across from the bank building. It moved to the historic structure in a bid for expansion, but heating and other costs "skyrocketed" there and sales fell 20 percent.

Basmajian said the business has amped up its social media presence this year and improved sales. He declined to give specifics.

The building facade's lack of openness and its "intimidating" visage has turned away customers, he said — especially younger ones who may feel they can't afford jewelry from such a "fancy" building. In reality, prices are competitive, he added.

"Every week we still have people who come in and say, 'Oh my God, I've walked by here five years, 10 years, and I finally got enough courage to walk in,'" he said.

His reasons for moving also include seeking a smaller space and more convenient parking options.

Some business owners in the Oakland County city's downtown have complained over the past several months that development work on city-owned parking lots has hurt sales. Royal Oak is building a city center with office space, municipal buildings and a new 580-space parking deck just east of Main Street, but it's taking 223 parking spots offline to do it.

Andiamo Trattoria closed at Main Street and 11 Mile Road in July, citing parking difficulties due to construction. The owner of Beirut Palace claimed the disruption was why he sold his business in October.

Unlike some others, Basmajian is interested in moving closer to the new parking deck, he told Crain's. He said ongoing construction has hurt sales, but he's hopeful about the incoming spots.

Some businesses and individuals against the Royal Oak City Center development formed a group called the Take Back Royal Oak Coalition. It announced Friday that some farmers who sell at the city farmers market next to the construction project have joined, including Dominic Cinzori of Cinzori Organic. A news release indicates that at least three farming operations are backing the sentiment. A website, SavetheFarmersMarket.com, has launched with a logo and petition.

City officials have argued that the construction is a worthwhile growing pain that will add much-needed parking spaces when complete.

Former Royal Oak City Commissioner Charles Semchena said in a recent guest column in the local Daily Tribune that "There are too many components in the City Center plan (medical office, parking deck, park, police station, city hall, farmers market, nearby businesses) and not enough parking."