Dowtown Guelph is losing another one of its retail institutions.
Sidonio's Custom Men's Shoppe, a high-end men's clothing store that has operated in downtown Guelph for 38 years, is moving to a new location at the end of the summer.
Sidonio's, and its younger sister store Art of Denim, will be moving to 186 Norfolk Street on the northwest corner of Norfolk Street and Suffolk Street.
Sidonio's and Art of Denim, which has been downtown for 17 years, currently operate side-by-side at 132 and 128 Wyndham Street North.
Paul Brombal runs Sidonio's, which was founded by his father Sidonio, while his brother Marc runs Art of Denim.
Paul Brombal said a changing customer landscape and the neverending downtown issue of a lack of parking were the main reasons for the move.
"People want convenience and we really like our parking situation at the new location," said Paul Brombal.
"It's nothing that's going away and it's nothing that's new," he said of the parking issue. "For the past 10 years the parking issue has been a bit of a sideshow and I don't think people realized what the impact is until now.
"It doesn't matter where you go, it's one of the first questions in people's minds: 'where are we going to park our car?' ... logistically the new place is just simpler."
Paul Brombal admits that Sidonio's is a destination store. They have a lot of repeat customers who know what they are looking for. So leaving downtown won't lose any of those customers.
The new location will make it easier for them to shop, with eight dedicated spaces.
"Do you need to be downtown?" Paul Brombal said. "I think it's nice to have complimentary businesses near you."
He said he still considers their new location part of the downtown, even if geographically it might not be.
"In our hearts we'll always be downtown. I grew up downtown. We're associated very strongly with that."
Paul said the opportunity to own a building like the one on Norfolk, which was built in the late 1800s, is also appealing.
Sidonio's and Art of Denim will share 2,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor of the building.
"For a longtime I've always wanted to own one of the older historic buildings in the city," Paul Brombal said.
"By bringing our Sidonio’s and Art of Denim shops under one roof we are providing customers with a one-stop shop experience where clients can find everything from black tie to blue jeans,” Marc Brombal said.
