Shryock’s Men’s Wear To Close In Early December

Shryock’s has been in business for 68 years, since the menswear store was opened by a Missouri transplant in the 1940s. But the shop at 310 Court Street NE in Salem now has a lease sign posted prominently in the window. Shryock’s is closing, and owner Mark Messmer plans to keep the shop open until early December. “This was a choice,” he insists, sitting at a table inside. “It wasn’t something that was being forced on us.” A tailor used to work there. A Rat Pack poster hangs near the front counter. Suit jackets line a back wall. Changing market forces have influenced the shop, from government rules to demographics shifts. Messmer argues the standards of acceptable work dress have lowered, which he in part attributes to the economy. “You see people wearing things to work today that 20 years ago you would wear to clean your garage out,” he said. For him, it’s like walking down an alley that gets narrower and narrower: When do you decide to turn around and get out? Read more at Statesman Journal.