By Ofelia Saenz, Staff Writer
There’s a saying that rolls off the tongues of the folks who work at Star Jewelers in Bixby Knolls, according to owner Steve Hastings, whose family has owned the well-known, well-respected jewelry store for more than 40 years: “We laugh with our customers, we cry with our customers and we celebrate with our customers.”
Hastings has invited the public to stop by the store to laugh, cry and celebrate, one more time–as of today, Thursday, May 3, it is officially announced that the store is closing.
Although no specific date has been set for the final day of business, Hastings emphasized he is committed to making sure that any and all pending work will be fulfilled for his customers. In the meantime, prices on everything in the store will be marked down to the lowest in its history.
“My goal is to be left with zero inventory,” Hastings said. “We have every reason for our regular customers and new customers to stop in and see us because the savings are going to be unlike anything that’s ever happened here.”
Hastings father (Jim Hastings) and grandfather (G.J. “Doc” Hastings) opened the store originally in downtown Long Beach in 1963. In 1977, while attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a student of architecture, Hastings came to work at the store for the summer and decided to stay. A year later Star Jewelers moved to Bixby Knolls.
Jim Hastings was active in the store’s operations until his passing three years ago. The younger Hastings is confident his father would have approved of his decision to move on.
“We can feel his presence,” he said. “We just know he’s up there with a smile on his face saying, ‘Go get ’em Steve.'”
According to Hastings, one of the secrets to the store’s success and longevity has been the commitment and talent of his staff–he can count on one hand the total number of employees the store has had throughout more than four decades. He thanks Susan Hoffman for 28 years of service as a sales associate and custom design specialist, Lillian “Dollie” Bristow for nearly a decade as a sales associate, and Neptali Jimenez for 15 years as a master goldsmith.
“All employees who have worked with us have been a wonderful extension of family, both to us and our customers,” he said.
The soft-spoken Hastings was as emotional as he was philosophical as he talked about the closing of this long chapter of his life (a chapter that he winked he would like to some day turn into a book).
“It’s a new adventure,” he said of his future without the store. “I’m going to be opening a new door. I’ll take a deep breath and learn how to walk that new path.”
Star Jewelers is located at 3922 Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls.
For more information, call (562) 426-9333 or visit www.StarJewelers.net.
