[Photo by James and Karla Murray]
It's the end of an era for the Royal Tailor shop … James and Karla Murray pass along the news that Gino DiGirolamo is retiring, and his shop at 520 E. 14th St. is closing on May 31.
Gino moved here between Avenue A and Avenue B in late 2006. Previously his shop was on Avenue A near East 12th Street.
Jeremiah Moss wrote about Gino in January 2008.
He wears a measuring tape around his neck. He has two televisions sitting one on top of the other. His walls are covered with pictures of the Italian soccer team, boxer Rocky Marciano, and a poster showing popular lengths of sleeves and trouser legs.
Matthew Handal shot several videos of Gino back in 2007…
So long to one of the delightful characters in the neighborhood…
Previously on EV Grieve:
A pile of clothes at the Royal Tailor
Mary Pupillo — 'A true relic of the East Village'
It's nice to see a business end because the owner is retiring not being driven out by high rents.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll continue to rent the space in return for a small piece of a new tailor's profit. If I was a tailor I'd jump on that opportunity cuz it's risk-free: I make enough business to pay the rent I'm not on the hook for legally. I'd gladly kick Gino 10% of the profits.
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My family used Gino for decades as our tailor. Wish him all the best for a very well deserved retirement !
ReplyDeleteTruly an EV "Legend", and I'm very sad to see him leave. I did always wonder what his thing was with Rocky Marciano, but never asked. Maybe the answer is in the video clips that I have not yet viewed. Good luck Gino and thanks for all your great tailoring work.
ReplyDeleteAnd he's a Mets fan!
ReplyDeleteGino himself was a boxer, wasn't he?
ReplyDeletelove love love Gino, used to drop off some tailoring on a saturday night, go to Otto's down the block and pick it up at the end of the night
ReplyDeleteCan someone remind me where Gino was previously on Avenue A, exactly? Like, where Ost coffee shop is, or that ill-fated gelato shop? I'm having so much trouble picturing it ...
ReplyDeleteI pass his shop every weekend on my way to do laundry. I have two coats that need a little hem, so I'm glad we have until May to say our goodbyes.
He wasn't where Ost is, more like where the gelato shop was.
ReplyDeleteOh Gino, he was my tailor for at least 20 years and the price for hemming was always $5 or $7 with a cuff, it never increased. There was a time when he hemmed every pair of pants I owned, and sometimes redid them if they shrank or I got fat so they were shorter than they should be. But then the inevitable happened with the no ticket policy dm keeping everything in a pile, he couldn't find my pants and I got mad and he got mad and that was the end of my relationship with Gino. He wasn't the best tailor, often didn't have the right zipper or button to fix something, items were rarely ready when he said they would be so you'd have to go back a couple of times, it smelled stale and mildewy so my son refused to enter, his hours not regular or predictable, but he was almost always open at 11pm. He was a real character and will be sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteI spoke to him briefly today, he said the landlord doubled his rent.
ReplyDelete