Rita Caz is closing its doors May 20. Owners Gail Zimmerman and Mark Crockett started the store in 1986, and are now retiring. (Photo by Audrey Hackett)
Good-bye, Rita Caz
- Published: May 10, 2017
Rita Caz is closing. On Saturday, May 20, the eclectic Yellow Springs store, offering everything from custom jewelry to African art to vintage guitars, will shut its doors for good.
Until then, a sale is on, offering 50 percent off most items in the store.
Husband-and-wife owners Mark Crockett and Gail Zimmerman are retiring after more than 30 years. “We’re getting older, we’re moving slower,” Crockett said recently. The closing is bittersweet, the couple said. But jeweler and bluesman Crockett has plans to continue making jewelry, and making music, from studio space in the couple’s Yellow Springs home.
Rita Caz opened in 1986 on Dayton Street, moving over to Kings Yard soon after. It’s been a village icon, and an area destination, ever since. Crockett is trained as a goldsmith and silversmith; Zimmerman works in silver. And a longtime employee, Mary Patterson, has contributed her custom jewelry-making skills for 30 years.
“It’s been a decent living — and a lot of fun,” Crockett said.
Customers and friends are stopping by to say farewell. While the store closes at the end of the day on May 20, Crockett and Zimmerman will still be cleaning out the space until the end of May. In June, local yoga studio and boutique House of AUM will expand into the space.
See the May 11 issue of the News for a more in-depth story.
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