CRESTVIEW — The Lewis legacy continues Monday morning, when a member of the jewelry family's next generation opens her store.
“There were a lot of tears shed" when Keith Lewis retired and closed his North Ferdon Boulevard gallery last year, his daughter Rachel Lewis said. Responding to customers’ requests, Rachel decided to continue the 20-year family tradition.
Lewis Diamond Gallery's location — in Redstone Plaza, the new South Ferdon Boulevard shopping center across from Redstone Avenue — is on a different side of the city, but "we’re still the same, great hometown company we’ve been for the last 20 years," Rachel said. "Holly (Clarno) and Charles Ann (Love) and all the same faces are coming back.”
And her father won’t be a stranger. “Dad said he’d come in and help out from time to time,” she said.
ELEGANCE AND SERVICE
Lewis Diamond Gallery, like Lewis & Co. Jewelers, will offer jewelry repair, custom designs and a selection of watches and jewelry “at the lowest possible prices," Rachel Lewis said.
She praised her contractor, Jacob Locke, and interior designer, Alec Hritz, for creating her store’s classic elegance. She is particularly pleased with the woodwork and her gleaming, highly varnished stained concrete floor.
“I was so excited about how it turned out,” Rachel said. “The cracks are my favorite parts.”
She anticipates embracing new and returning customers. “These people are our family,” Rachel said. “Many have been coming in the last 20 years.
"The timing worked out well, because we’ll be open in time for Christmas."
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Family tradition: Next generation’s jewelry store opens Monday