Michael Recht ha visto disminuir las ventas en sus tiendas de telas de Yardage Town durante décadas.

At its maximum point in the 1970s, the National City chain had 16 stores, all in San Diego County.But from the end of the 1980s, Yardage Town began to close their stores in the midst of the decrease in sales because working women had less time to sew and clothing chains with discounts created less need to sew.

Now Recht will close the remaining four stores.This will mark the end of the family business that opened its first store in the drawer in 1953, just a decade after its national competitor Joann Fabrics was founded.

"First, I'm 71 years old," said Recht, who lives in San Diego."I can't continue forever.And I have no one to leave the business.My two children are happy with their professions.But in addition, it is not a very profitable job ".

The business was initiated by his father, who came from Poland.Yardage Town opened because he liked to buy and sell, and he liked fabrics and clothes.

When I was a child, Recht had no interest in his father's fabric stores.When his father took him to Yardage Town, he went to the back room and read comics.I dreamed of becoming a writer.

But he started working there full time after graduating from the university in 1972 and fell in love with it.

"If I make a great sale, it's something exciting," said Recht.“When people enter and I have exactly what they want, it's a great feeling.I feel bad when I don't have what they want.I try to anticipate what is going to supply customers ", many of whom have come to stores with their parents or grandparents since they were young children.

When Recht entered the business in the 1970s and until the early 1980s, he said that the textile industry benefited from a commercial boom.

"The clothes were still relatively expensive to buy it then and therefore people sewed," he said."They taught to sew the school.It was a great money saving your own clothes.Now you can go to clothing stores with discount and buy really cheap clothes ".

Discount stores like Five Below, T.J.Maxx, Marshalls and Ross contributed to the decrease in sales in Yardage Town.He added that he did not help more women began to work and had less time to sew.And less schools offered sewing classes.

"We definitely had problems paying invoices," he said."There were many moments like that".

Why didn't Recht leave the business then?

"I went to university," he said."But this was the only thing I really knew how to do.So I had to continue with it.And you always expect things to improve.But it was not like that".

His sister, who is still owned by half of the business with Recht, and his nephew realized it and stopped working for the family business two years ago.Recht stayed to reduce the inventory in the remaining stores in Encinitas, National City, Vista and Chula Vista.Recht will close the Encinitas store, which is currently making its business out of the business, in March, when the lease is terminated.Will eventually close the other three stores found in buildings of your property.

Being the owner of some of Yardage Town buildings, which are relatively large, has also helped the business stay afloat during all this time because they did not have to pay rental.The National City store covers 30 thousand square feet and the warehouse, which is also owned, has another 30 thousand square feet.Chula and Vista stores each have about 10,000 square feet.

What will Recht do after closing the business and sells the remaining buildings?

"I worry about that every day.I enjoy coming here.I work six days a week.I really don't have hobbies."

So recently he asked his son to buy golf sticks for his birthday.

“Pero yo no juego", dijo Recht. “Espero que me guste".