Gittelson Jewelers is Moving

After 37 years in the downtown skyway, Gittelson Jewelers is moving to a new location. In the coming months, you can find us in the Six Quebec Lofts at:

Gittelson Jewelers
601 Marquette Avenue
Suite #218
Minneapolis, MN
55402

Gittelson Jewelers Moving Sale

You can celebrate in the excitement with us by helping us clean the place out. Gittelson Jewelers is offering 50% – 75% off of our existing inventory in the store. This may be the perfect time to look at ready-to-wear options in necklaces, bracelets, gemstone rings, earrings, and more!

Betting on the future of downtown Minneapolis

In the past decade or so, many positive changes have come to Minneapolis – specifically the downtown business sector. We’ve seen large sports venues like Target Filed and U.S Bank Stadium come to fruition. Other renovations to Target Center and Nicollet Mall have been great changes as well making the urban city driveline a welcoming place with more Blue Line light rail stops and several hotel and condo projects for living and staying options. Gittelson Jewelers has been in the epicenter of all of this activity.

Minneapolis houses Fortune 500 corporate offices, premier entertainment venues, luxury hotels, and our biggest providers of local media – such as CBS Local, WCCO news. Not to mention, scores of dining options ranging from the iconic Murray’s steak house to the more recent growth of fine dining institutions like Fhima’s.

The aftermath, however, of George Floyd and pandemic measures have left the return of small businesses to downtown Minneapolis uncertain. But we have seen some growth…

Minneapolis’s big reset

Before COVID more than 200,000 people commuted into downtown Minneapolis for work. Every day. The Minneapolis Downtown Council reported at the end of 2021 that downtown largest business buildings only had 16% capacity nearly 2 years after the pandemic reared its ugly head. If you’ve visited us at all, you know that the skyways are empty, the streets are quiet and many people have perceived fears about safety and lack of options.

Many companies initially wanted to bring workers back after Labor Day, until the delta variant cropped up. Then, the target shifted to after New Year’s, until omicron screwed up those plans. Major companies like Google and Uber, who had been so optimistic they could have more workers in the office by early January, quickly scrapped their plans.

The proverbial “ripple effects” have been felt Twin Cities-wide. The third-largest employer in downtown Minneapolis is Wells Fargo, with over 7,000 workers. They announced early in 2022 that they have delayed the plans for a return to the office.

Meanwhile, the largest downtown Minneapolis employer, Target, told KARE 11 at the end of December 2021 that some hybrid spaces have opened for on-site work in recent months, but that they won’t have any hard deadlines for when team members will need to come back to the office, and they’ll offer hybrid and remote options for future meetings.

Small business survive

Today, in early 2022, downtown Minneapolis still shows some signs of life. Many of the existing small businesses have figured out how to keep the status quo while waiting for foot traffic and commerce to creep it’s way back into our beautiful city.

The Minneapolis Downtown Council says the hardest hit area of downtown is the skyway system. But they say with reduced rent rates, more new businesses are slowly moving in. Our little jewelry store has been in the heart of the Minneapolis skyway system. We are grateful for our loyal, generational legacy customers that continue to support us during these past two years and difficult times. At Gittelson Jewelers, we are celebrating our 37th year in business in downtown Minneapolis and we don’t plan to stop anytime soon. A 40th-anniversary celebration is right around the corner. We are, however, moving to a new location. The building we’ve been in for years is renovating and carrying through with its long-publicized plans and we remain one of the only small businesses left in this section of the skyway.

Jewelers in downtown Minneapolis

Today, Gittelson Jewelers is one of the last standing jewelers in the heart of the city. After 136 years in business, our neighbor competitor, J.B. Hudson closed its doors and is relocating under a new name the western suburbs. We see some opportunity to move to a new, more accessible location for our customers and to capitalize on the need for small, family-owned jewelers in the downtown Minneapolis area to fulfill jewelry repairs, custom jewelry, and engagement ring design, last-minute gifts for our returning workforce and more.

A slow return to downtown for retailers

Despite the lack of hustle and bustle and city noise, there are some other silver linings. Attendance at sporting events had shot up over 40% before omicron intervened. The Minneapolis DID workers still suit up every single day to walk the streets, helped people with directions, and keep the sidewalks clean – a unique and pleasant offering by our downtown city council, largely kept alive by the companies that base their operations here.

Some businesses in the suburbs of the Twin Cities have taken this post-pandemic opportunity to relocate their business to the downtown area who were previously in the western suburbs. One example is L’More Chocolat. The owner was quoted in Minnesota Monthly as not having enough business walking through the doors to even cover her expensive Wayzata rent. She utilized a small business grant from the state of Minnesota to help finance the move and business is now on the upswing.

Many nearby upscale apartments in the downtown area are now offering concessions of 2 months or more free rent to move in. Condo buyers are also finding sweet discounts on new construction luxury homes. The Dayton Project, the highly anticipated, nostalgia-driven department store renovation is also nearly to completion but has struggled to find tenants during this time. Opportunities exist for those that wish to secure prime placement in the future of Minneapolis’s return to business life.

Support Small Businesses in Downtown Minneapolis

There is data upon data to speak to COVID variants, crime, and various other factors but the fact remains, Minneapolis is in the same situation as our nation’s largest cities. Chicago’s Michigan avenue still suffers from a lack of foot traffic, automobile traffic, and tourist shopping. Many shops are boarded up and closed permanently. In many ways, we’re in much better shape here in Minneapolis.

Shop Gittelson Jewelers

This year, in 2022, Gittelson Jewelers is celebrating its 37th year in business in downtown Minneapolis. As a small business, we need your support. And if you live in the city, we’re one of your last standing options to find beautiful ready-to-wear jewelry selections. We are also your family-owned source for engagement rings and custom-designed jewelry.

Jewelry repairs have been a staple of Gittelson Jewelers for many years. Find us in the skyway, for now, to repair your watch, necklace clasps, loose gemstones, and other ring sizing and alterations. And visit us in the coming months at our new location in the Six Quebec Building.

Contact us today or schedule an appointment. Bring your business back downtown Minneapolis.