Union Fashion closing after 123 years

Upscale clothing retailer Union Fashion, which traces its roots to stores opened in Downtown El Paso 123 years ago, is going out of business by the end of the year.

Enoch Kimmelman, 50, who's owned the store for 20 years, said he decided to close it to focus all his resources on Starr Western Wear. The western clothing store, started by his parents 51 years ago, has two locations.

"The (Union Fashion) sales were consistent over the years. This is just a strategic decision on my part to allocate all our resources to Starr Western, which is the core business of my company," he said.

The store, located at 8701 Gateway West, on the edge of Cielo Vista Mall's parking lot, has 25 employees, who will be transferred to Starr Western's locations, he said.

Union Fashion's main niche has been selling upscale men's clothing that can't be found at other El Paso stores, Kimmelman said. The store also carries women's and children's clothing.

West Side resident Troy Wyatt, 58, who's shopped periodically at Union Fashion for about 30 years, said he was sorry to hear the news.

"The lines of clothing they had were unique for the area. They have a great selection of clothing. They have classic Italian designers. It's not the kind of clothing you find at Dillard's or other places," he said. "The customer service is great. It's an old school approach of knowing the client really well."

But many of the clothes they sell now can be found online, Wyatt noted.

"It's a competitive market. You can go online and shop at Neiman's (Neiman Marcus),"  he said.

Ed Oppenheimer, 87, who sold Union Fashion in 1995 to Kimmelman, said he was surprised to hear about the store closing, but he also knows it's a tough business.

"Hometown department stores all over the country are selling out or closing," Oppenheimer said.

Oppenheimer's father-in-law, Harrry Talpis, was one of the two founders of Union Fashion. The store's roots began in 1892 when his father-in-law had the Fashion men's clothing store in Downtown, not far from Union Clothing Co., another men's clothing store started in 1892 by another businessman, he reported. In 1950, the two stores merged to become Union Fashion, and were located at the corner of  Oregon and San Antonio in Downtown for years, he said.

Oppenheimer worked at Union Fashion for 40 years before retiring in 1997. He operated the store for Kimmelman for two years.

In its heyday, it had three locations: Downtown, Cielo Vista, and Century Plaza on the West Side, Oppenheimer said. But as more national stores moved into the market, business became tougher, he said. That prompted a move into even higher end clothing to make it different from national retailers in the market, he said.

Kimmelman said the growing number of national chain clothing stores in El Paso didn't hurt Union Fashion's sales. Cielo Vista Mall and the Fountains at Farah shopping center make the Hawkins and Interstate 10 area in East Central El Paso one of the top retail areas in the city, and that brought people to Union Fashion, he said .

The store filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in 1995, just before Oppenheimer sold it. He told the El Paso Times in 1997 that the 1994 peso devaluation hurt the store's sales and prompted the bankruptcy filing.

Kimmelman moved the store in 1999 from a location at Gateway East near Geronimo to the former Popular Department Store building, which he bought and remodeled, in Downtown at San Antonio and Mesa. The building, which he later sold, now houses a Fallas clothing store.

In 2007, he moved Union Fashion to its current location on the edge of Cielo Vista Mall. Kimmelman owns the 26,000 square-foot building, which he plans to lease to another business.

Oppenheimer said Union Fashion has been one of the top men's clothing stores in the country for many years.

Kimmelman said loyal customers, including many from Mexico, kept Union Fashion going.

"I am grateful to them for their loyalty and support throughout the years," he said.

More information: facebook.com/UnionFashion

Vic Kolenc may be reached at vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; 546-6421; @vickolenc on Twitter.