120825...R HOWARDS 3...Warren...12-08-25... Richard Lawnhurst, right, owner of Howards Clothes with his wife Jean, helps customer Greg Patterson of Warren try on a pair of winter gloves as the long time men's clothing store in downtown Warren is closing...by R. Michael Semple

WARREN — The markdowns started Thursday when Howards Clothes announced it was ending operations after 75 years as an anchor store in the city’s downtown.

The discounts are appreciated but the memories, hugs and handshakes are the real deal. Owners Richard and Jean Lawnhurst, along with staff, are thanking each customer who stops in.

“That’s what happens in a business like this. If you treat people respectfully, they will treat you respectfully,” Richard Lawnhurst said last week. “So it works both ways.”

Located at 100 N. Park Ave., Howards is one of the iconic sites bordering Courthouse Square. The corner shop attracted business such as McClure’s Drugs in the early 1900s, which later transitioned into Gray’s Drug Store. Lawnhurst’s father-in-law, Howard Rosenberg, moved into the building after he acquired Farr’s Clothes, which was about a mile away.

“He changed it to Howards Clothing in 1976 when my wife and I bought this from him,” Lawnhurst said. “He had a couple of heart attacks and said, ‘You want to take over here?'”

Lawnhurst attended Miami University and The Ohio State University before graduating from OSU’s law school.

“My father-in-law said, ‘Come on, we’ll open up more stores,'” he recalled. “And my law school grades were so-so, and I thought, ‘OK, we’ll try that.'”

The expansion into Conneaut covered a few years before Lawnhurst consolidated all of the inventory to the Warren store.

“Truthfully, I stumbled into something I was good at. That’s the whole deal,” he said. “Sometimes you’re fortunate when you stumble into something that you never knew about, but that you end up being good at.”

Customer service is the cornerstone of Howards Clothing. That’s something the internet and supercenters / discount retailers cannot offer.

“We have an old-line Italian tailor who can do absolutely wonderful things with clothing. The internet does not have that,” Lawnhurst said. “We’ve been able to give that kind of service, which people appreciate.

“(That) sort of gives us an edge on the internet, on the Amazons of the world. Also, what we have here are responsible, finely trained sales people.”

Lawnhurst said to take department store sales as an example.

“(You) go in, and you want to buy a suit and you say, ‘I need a shirt and a tie.’ And they go, ‘It’s over there,’ and they point two floors away. We line it all up for you, and the customers enjoy that.”

Through the years, entertainers also have checked out Howards selection. One encounter didn’t fare well.

“Forty years ago, Frankie Avalon, who was doing a show here, came in and was looking at caps,” Lawnhurst said. “We were busy, and one of my customers yelled, ‘Hey, Richard, get a cap for the peanut head.'”

Avalon walked out.

That was the exception. Singers, musicians and actors — including Cheech and Chong — became Howards customers over the years.

The 20% discount on Howards lowest marked prices will continue until the stock is depleted.

“Everyone’s aging, so the window is closing,” Lawnhurst said. “Before the window sort of snaps on my neck, we decided we’ll do it now. We still have a couple of good years left.”

Plans include visiting daughters in Denver and Chicago, where they will spend time with family and attend weddings.

“Also, I’m a golfer. I’d like to be able to play golf and not have to go to work after.”

Lawnhurst is 81, and the store’s tailor is 84.

“My wife looks like 50, but she’s 79,” he said. “Runway models age well. She looks great.”

Lawnhurst said he would consider selling the business if the prospective owners had the right skill set.

“If you could find someone who’s capable of running it, we would be happy to listen to them. But if you look you will see there are no stores like this from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, into Akron-Canton, over into Pennsylvania.”

Once emptied, the store will become an attractive business location.

“We would love to find someone to open up a retail space here,” he said. “We will not do pole dancing, massage parlors or bars. We want downtown Warren, which is really doing great, to continue to have a great venue

here.”