Click here to subscribe today or Login.
DALLAS — Surrounded by glimmering gemstones in pristine cases, Tommy Van Scoy Jr. is ready to sell diamonds in Dallas once again.
“It means a lot to me because this is where I have hundreds of loyal customers and friends,” said Van Scoy, owner and president of jewelry store Tovon and Co. “It’s like coming home.”
In the wake of a devastating tornado that struck its Wilkes-Barre Township store earlier this year, Tovon and Co. will be celebrating its grand re-opening in Dallas — where he started out a quarter-century ago — with a sale and giveaways starting this Friday at 10 a.m.
Customers can expect a 20 to 50 percent savings on an expanded inventory throughout the celebration, which lasts through Sunday.
In addition to the opening special, customers can enter to win a pair of one carat total weight diamond earrings that will be raffled off on Christmas Eve.
The store is open now, however, for those who want to check out the offerings and new surroundings.
Long history
Van Scoy opened his original retail store in the Dallas Shopping Center in 1992. In 2004, he moved to Wilkes-Barre Commons, off Mundy Street in Wilkes-Barre Township.
On the night of June 13, years of hard work were destroyed in a matter of minutes, when an EF2 tornado tore through several shopping centers in the township, ripping through Tovon & Co.’s store in the process.
As luck would have it, Van Scoy planned to relocate the store back to Dallas after the lease for the Wilkes-Barre location expired in August 2019. In the storm’s aftermath, the plaza’s building managers let him out of the lease early, acknowledging that it would likely take longer than that to rebuild the Commons, Van Scoy said.
This allowed Van Scoy to secure space in the Dallas Shopping Center, four doors down from the original 1992 location.
Meanwhile, the Commons remains in limbo. Owned by Urban Edge Properties of Paramus, N.J., the hardest-hit building, in which Tovon was located, also housed Panera Bread, America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, LA Nails, Sneaker King, GameStop and Famous Footwear.
The buildings were severely damaged and have been condemned to be demolished. Urban Edge officials have not commented publicly on the status of the property.
A comfortable space
The new location is about the same square footage of the Wilkes-Barre Township location, he said, but a different configuration means Van Scoy now has his own office, something that was missing at the old store.
Since most of the machinery was destroyed in the tornado, the new store also features all new equipment that will allow Tovon and Co. to continue manufacturing custom pieces.
The most important aspect of the new location? The location itself.
“My favorite part about this location is that it’s closer to home for me,” Van Scoy said. “You can’t believe the people that knocked on the door saying ‘we’re so glad you’re back here.’”
That said, he also knows that good service translates into loyal customers, regardless of location.
“If people have done business with you before, or have been referred to you, they basically will find you,” Van Scoy said. “Referrals are what it’s all about.”
